The history, present status and future prospects of the Russian fuel peat industry

The purpose of this article is to review the history of the Russian fuel peat industry, analyse the prospects for its further development, and draw attention to its significant technical and economic potential. Russian peat resources represent more than 30 % of the global total. Peat production peaked during 1960–1980, when the volume of peat extraction was two orders of magnitude higher than it is now. The key factors that prevented further development of the Russian fuel peat industry were an inadequate regulatory framework for peat processing and the inability of peat extraction enterprises to overcome the energy supply monopoly of the coal, oil and gas industries. At present, the peat industry of the Russian Federation is in decline and its potential has been lost. Most of the power plants that previously operated on peat have been converted to coal and other fuels and, as a result, the occurrence of peatland fires has increased greatly. A case is made for revival of the industry to exploit peat as a local energy resource, employing modern processing techniques that can achieve full utilisation of the peat whilst reducing air pollution and generating little waste.