Effect of Rewetting on Smouldering Combustion of a Tropical Peat

Abstract

Probability of land and forest fire in Indonesia is quite high. Peat land is one of the highest contribute of the fire disaster. Indonesia is the country with the highest peat land in Southeast Asia, with more than 50 % of tropical peat species. Combustion of peat produced carbon emission with large quantities and affect to global warming. Characteristic of smoldering combustion of peat cause detection and extinction be difficult. Moreover, there are another impact such as high erosion potential, structural collapse and soil layer damage. Flameless on peat smoldering causes peat restoration institution build fire prevention method. Regulation of water table on peat land with rewetting method aims to maintain and restore the moisture of peat. The experiment aims to understand characteristic of smoldering combustion of rewetting peat. Sample used in the experiments was taken from Bagaiserwar village, Sarmi, Papua (01°55’14, 11”, E: 138°6’17, 35”). A set of thermocouples were used to explore horizontal spread rate at 80 mm intervals. Mass loss rate indicates derivation caused by evaporation on wet peat. Author discovered a fire risk is higher than natural combustion in experiments with rewetting peat. Spread rate of smoldering is high on rewetting peat with initial MC before rewetting is ≤ 10 %. Hydrophobic of peat cause retention of water on peat changes. This phenomenon causes evaporation process being faster and total combustion time occur rapidly, start from preheating until self extinction.