Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - I. Natural Resources of Sweden. By Gunnar Andersson
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SOURCES OF MECHANICAL POWER.
3
city with which peat substances hold water, the result of which is that
a great amount of energy is required to dry the peat; this of course entails
considerable outlay in a country where the summers are usually short
and very rainy. The other condition which so largely prevents the utility
of peat as fuel is the proportionately small and thin layers in which it
occurs, even in the greatest and, to a large extent, the majority of the
moss beds. When one reflects that, even in good and prepared peat-fuel,
the amount of energy averages barely half that of coal, while the ash refuse
is considerably higher as a rule, it may readily be inferred that the
"peat question" does not come into the category of easily solved problems.
On the whole, it is beyond dispute that the question is unsolved a;s yet, and
one cannot reckon with any certainty in the near future on peat as a
source of power, in any other sense than that those industries which are
favourably located near peat-mosses suitable for fuel may be expected to
extract from it, more or less advantageously, a considerable proportion of
their necessary power. Apparently it will be a long time before any
appreciable portion of the country’s requirements in this respect will be
met by such means. On the other hand, the importance of peat-moss beds
as cultivable soil are probably comparatively greater, but this is not our
present subject.
Shale-oils. Another mineral fuel may possibly come into use in the
future, viz., the oils which are incontestably to be found in the Silurian
shales of Västergötland and other provinces. At present the question of
working these to such a purpose is in the initial stages, but it has been
taken in hand, and the remarkable success achieved in utilizing such
fuel in Scotland and France appears to open up the probability of success
in Sweden too. In that case a considerable proportion of the demand for
motor oils etc., can be met. The Silurian shales which are combustile
(1 500—2 600 calories) contain as much as 6—8 % of oils and a
considerable quantity of sulphur (6—9 %). The latter could also be worked
up into valuable artificial fertilizers.
Water-power. The greatest and most important store of energy in
Sweden manifestly consists of its waterfalls. Through the abundance of
water-courses, through the multitude of terraced falls, through the
numerous lakes whose waters are capable of regulation, and through abundant
discharges, the country should be one of the best endowed in the world in
point of water-power. The remote situation of a large proportion of its great
falls, the long winter in the districts where certain of these are located, and
the small height of many falls are circumstances which in certain
cases reduce their value. It is to be observed that about 3-5 million
horsepower can possibly be utilized in the next few decades. Of this estimated
total about 850 000 horse-power will probably have been harnessed by
1915. At the present moment, waterfalls produce more than half of all
the mechanical power in the country, a fact which clearly illustrates their
enormus importance for the entire economic life of Sweden.
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