USE FOR NATURAL HEAT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 20, 20 December 1932, Page 8

USE FOR NATURAL HEAT.

DOMINION. THERMAL AREAS.

The possibility of using subterranean heat and escaping gases in the thermal regions of New Zealand is discussed by Messrs J. A. Bruce and F. B. Shorland, of the chemistry division of the Department of Agriculture, in a recent publication. In their report Messrs Bruce and Shorland detail the utilisation of natural heat resources in other countries and express the view that what has been accomplished elsewhere might be possible in the Dominion. The report states that latent heat energy lias been successfully harnessed in Iceland, Tuscany nnd California. In Iceland earth heat is not regarded as a luxury, but as a necessity. Volcanic activity has provided abundant areas of heated soil, which make possible the cultivation of crops normally grown in more temperate countries. Steam from hot springs is used for heating homes and the provision of hot water for baths and laundries, while glasshouses, buiit on areas of warm earth, have enabled the commercial production of fruit and vegetables which had previously to be imported. POWER FOR TURBINES. In the thermal district of Tuscany, extending over 100 square miles, powerful fumaroles, or steam vents, are common, and in certain parts of the area the steam, after the boric acid which it contains has been extracted, provides power for low-pressure turbines. The team output from a number of wells in California has been similarly harnessed. After detailing the thermal regions of New Zealand the report states that in some areas difficulty would be encountered in attempting to utilise natural heat resources, as the acidity in the water would necessitate the use of glazed earthenware pipes, while, the soil in the immediate vicinity of the springs would require special treatment before being adapted for horticultural purposes. However, such difficulties appeared to have been overcome in other countries. As the subsoil at the Rotorua Samtorium gardens was warm, these gardens constituted an ideal forcing ground for flowers, which bloomed profusely. It seemed that properly controlled warming of tlie ground by means of pipes from hot springs, or the making of hotbeds in special areas, would remove the dangers of the hard frosts which are common at Rotorua in the winter and assist in the early or out-of-season production of certain hothouse crops. In many parts of the district the soil was of good texture and responded well to phosphatic fertilisers.

COLLECTION OF DATA. The hot springs districts of Iceland hnd been carefully survey'd and mapped and a similar complete compilation and con-elation of recorded data in the Dominion would be of considerable assistance in deciding the possibilities of exploitation of _ these natural resources from the industrial and agncultural viewpoints. . . , A close study of the mineral content of the Dominion’s thermal springs might indicate the possibility of recovery profitably chemicals by evaporation by natural heat. In particular, the expensive iodine salts, which were believed to be present in relatively large quantities in a number of hot spring might possibly be utilised for pharmaceutical purposes and for iodised licks for Larin animals. Some of the other salts present might also be recovered and appropriately used, while certain of the bases accompanying fumarole steam had commercial importance.. These had been successfully recovered in Tuscany. “The thermal region of rsew Zealand compares favourably with that of Iceland in several respects, including extent power, adaptability and suitability of soil and climate for agircultui-al: utilisation,” concludes the report.-