The Koppelman process for irreversible drying and upgrading of low value fuels has been applied to peat from various sources. The paper describes an adaptation of the Koppelman process in which peat is hydraulically mined and pipelined as a slurry to a plant where it is converted to a high quality solid fuel, designated as K-Fuel. In the Koppelman process wet feedstocks are heated under pressure to achieve partial carbonization. Water and carbon dioxide are displaced and the product has a high heating value, typically 4000 to 5000 Btu/lb higher than the heating value of conventionally dried peat due to the removal of oxygen. K-Fuel made from peat has a heating value up to 14,000 Btu/lb, depending on ash content and severity of treatment. This fuel can be burned in a solid fuel-fired burner or can be ground and dispersed readily in fuel oil to burn as a slurry. Thermal pretreatment converts the peat to a form that can be partially dewatered by filtration. The dewatered peat is then conveyed through the reactor where it is heated further to partially carbonize the peat. The product is extruded from the reactor, then cooled and chopped into a convenient form. Water from the reactor can be treated by wet air oxidation to reduce the organic content and to generate the steam required by the process. (ERA citation 05:034514)
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