Irish Peat Fuel
Ireland and the United Kingdom are pretty unique in that they utilize “Peat” as a kind of fuel, while most of the world uses coal, wood, petroleum, or gas for their heating. Peat use can be found also in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Scotland, Poland, Northern Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, New Zealand, and North America. Burning peat in Ireland has been a tradition and a way of life for hundreds of years being used to warm homes, cottages, and castles. Peat heat has become so popular that some other countries import it in as a type of fuel because of the aroma and ambiance it creates when heating a home. Peat is harvested on peat bog islands like Ireland and England and turned into briquettes, just like firewood. Peat, or turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed histosol (decayed vegetation) that forms in wetland moors, bogs, mires, and swamp forests. Peat covers approximately 4 trillion meters of the Earth’s surface which is approximately 2% of the Earth’s land mass. Approximately 60% of the world’s wetlands are peat. Peat is formed when plant material in marshy areas isn’t condensed and trapped where it cannot fully decay from acidic and anaerobic conditions. It consists of grasses, fungi, rees, roots, insects, and animal remains within a bi of waterlogging. When dried out it can be used as a fuel, especially for cooking or heating. The use of peat fires are integral in the production of Scotch whisky. Because of how dry and combustible peat can become, it is a major fire hazard as peat fires can burn indefinitely, and can burn underground, even reigniting after the winter when exposed to oxygen. Peat gets in the way of construction as when structures, roads, and railways are built upon it, can be highly compressible under even small roads. Peat had lots of ritual significance in the Bronze and Iron age, as many believed the peat to be home to many Gods and spirits. Bodies of ritual sacrifices are often found in the Peat bogs in countries like England, Ireland, Northern Germany, and Denmark – the tannic acid properties within the peat has incredible preservation properties especially with bog bodies. The Vikings abstraced bog iron from peat bogs to create swords and armour.
