Experimental study of peat sample drying kinetics using moisture analyser

Abstract

The smoldering peat fire can spread undetected and has related to the haze problem in Indonesia. During a long dry season where rain chances remain low, often become the triggering condition for peat fire. However, the situation has worsened recently due to the opening of agricultural canal networks on peatlands which accelerates moisture loss on peat layers. Once ignited and smoldering, peat fire is hard to extinguish and highly unpredictable. Therefore, understanding the drying processes and the kinetics would help to predict and prevent the conditions at which critical moisture content from occurring. This work evaluates the drying process experimentally, and the kinetics of Indonesia peat that extends the work by Palamba, P. et al. [5] by using new samples originated from Riau and Papua as a comparison. The isothermal tests using a Moisture Analyser performed by varying the temperatures of 50°C to 110°C for each peat samples. The measurements include moisture content, evaporation, and mass-loss rates. These variables were utilized to indicate the minimum activation energy level required by the peat sample for drying processes before ignition take place. The main results and outcomes of this work will be provided and analyzed in the full paper.