What is a peat fire?

Unlike vegetation fires, peat fires

peat fires

Peat fires

Once ignited by the presence of a heat source (e.g., a wildfire penetrating the subsurface), it smoulders. These smouldering fires can burn undetected for very long periods of time (months, years, and even centuries) propagating in a creeping fashion through the underground peat layer.

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Peat - Wikipedia

burn fuel sources buried deep underground. As a result, they are almost impossible to extinguish without re-establishing the natural water levels of the area.

What does a peat fire smell like?

Burning peat sometimes smells delicious, like smoky bacon. The treacherous smoke does not sting your eyes at all, while the carbon monoxide and methane released into the air are killing you, slowly and surely.

How are peat fires caused?

Droughts, drainage, and changes in land use are likely the main causes that lead to the high flammability conditions of dry peat lands. Possible ignition events can be natural (e.g., lightning, self-heating, and volcanic eruption) or anthropogenic (land management, accidental ignition, and arson).

Why are peat fires hard to put out?

Once found, one problem to putting out peat fires is that peat soil repels water when it gets very dry, says Watts. Think of how water pools on top of the soil in a potted plant that has been neglected for too long. Water has to be able to break through the soil's surface to get to the underground fires.

Is burning peat worse than coal?

But peat is particularly polluting. Burning it for electricity emits more carbon dioxide than coal, and nearly twice as much as natural gas.

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Is burning peat better than wood?

Peat has low atmospheric emissions when burnt compared to many fuels and it is clean and easy to handle. From as little as 20p per kg it is also one of the cheapest fuel products on the market today when compared with coal, soft and hardwood logs.

Are there peat bogs in the US?

United States

Brown's Lake Bog - in Wayne County, Ohio, one of the few remaining kettle peatlands in the U.S. state of Ohio. It has a kettle lake, kame, and a floating sphagnum moss mat. Stillwater Bog - a sphagnum bog in Snoqualmie, Washington.

Is there peat in the US?

The North American peat deposits are principally found in Canada and the Northern United States. Some of the world's largest peatlands include the West Siberian Lowland, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, and the Mackenzie River Valley. There is less peat in the Southern Hemisphere, in part because there is less land.

Is burning peat toxic?

The fine particles released from peat fires pose the greatest risk to your health. When these particles get into your eyes and lungs, symptoms of irritation such as coughing, wheezing and sore eyes are commonly experienced. As smoke levels decrease these symptoms will become less pronounced and eventually cease.

Do they still burn peat in Ireland?

One in seven Irish households still burn peat for heat. New rules are aimed at discouraging a practice that many consider part of the culture.

What is the longest burning peat fire?

"Indeed, the oldest continuously burning fire on Earth is the Burning Mountain in New South Wales, Australia, a large coal seam that has been smoldering for approximately 6,000 years," Rein said.

Does peat burn hotter than wood?

The burning characteristics of wood and peat are very similar and a stove designed for one will just as easily burn the other. Peat produces much more ash than wood though so that the stove needs to be de-ashed more often.

Can you cook over a peat fire?

Scottish Peat

Peat has traditionally been used for centuries for cooking and domestic heating. These 'coal-like' lumps of peat are easy and clean to handle, light easily and can also be burnt alongside other fuels on multi-fuel stoves and open fires.

Can you cook on a peat fire?

Hot peat ashes are excellent for roasting fish, eggs, etc.; and likewise for stewing, and any kind of cookery that requires a mild heat. In this respect it approaches to charcoal. How do you cook over a fire in the middle of the floor? You can have a chain and hook hanging from the roof above.

What do the Irish burn in their fireplaces?

Briquettes are widely used to heat homes and business throughout the country. Siobhán's Irish Fire Logs are Irish peat briquettes made from the finest milled peat, Ireland's answer to burning wood.

Why don t we use peat anymore?

Peat releases huge amounts of stored carbon dioxide when it is harvested, which adds to greenhouse gas levels. Peat mining is effectively unsustainable – it grows back at just 1 mm a year.

Why is peat illegal?

Its extraction for human use dries the peat causing the area to degrade and also increases the risk of wildfires. These two factors allow for increasing amounts of carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere, making them one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases.

Is peat dirtier than coal?

But peat, or turf, is one of the most polluting fuels in the world. It is more polluting, even, than coal, generating less energy when burned while producing more emissions.

Why do humans destroy peat bogs?

Peat bog destruction

For many years peat was removed from bogs for gardeners to add to their soil or in some countries, to burn as fuel. This dramatically reduced biodiversity. Because peat takes such a long time to form, it is a non-renewable energy resource like fossil fuels.

Why should humans not destroy peat bogs?

Peat bogs are destroyed for use in farming and as fuel. Peat bogs are broken up to form compost for farming. Moreover, they are burnt for fuel. This is dangerous as it releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Is peat banned in the US?

But the voluntary targets set there in 2011 to end the sale of peat in their home-garden products by 2020 have slipped by. Last December, a ban effective in 2024 was announced, with a 2030 timeline on products for commercial growers.

How hot is a peat fire?

The ignition temperature of peat was 177°C [8]. Sonibare et al.

What is the disadvantage of burning peat?

But the substance also has its drawbacks. Peat ignites very easily and smolders for an extremely long time, setting free huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Do you dry peat before burning?

Cut peat should be dried before burning to reduce tar deposits. Peat should be burnt in the same manner as wood, on the flat base of the stove in a bed of ash. Doubles, Trebles and Cobbles may be burnt, do not use singles or coal dust (or “slack”).

How do the Irish heat their homes?

Boilers are used to both heat the home and the water. You can run a gas, oil, LPG or wood chip/pellet boiler, depending on what fuel source is accessible to you.