STUDY OF PEAT CHARACTERISTICS, DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT, AND CARBON STORAGE CAPACITY IN MEMPAWAH PEATLAND, WEST KALIMANTAN

• Main Author: Maulana Akbar, Rizky
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Geologi, hidrologi & meteorologi
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/70194
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Peat studies in Indonesia, especially from a geological point of view, have not been widely carried out, even though the potential of peat resources in Indonesia in 2020 is 13.52 billion tons of dry peat. Peat can be used as an alternative energy resource, but it is necessary to consider the carbon emissions that will be generated. The research area is located in Mempawah, West Kalimantan. The research area is one of the areas with potential peat resources. But further studies on the geology and peat characteristics of Mempawah area have not yet carried out. The purpose of this study was to study the peat characteristics, the depositional environment, and the carbon storage capacity of the Mempawah peatland. The research area is divided into Block A, Block B, and Block C based on the bordered depression areas where peat accumulation is located. Analysis of megascopic physical characteristics (type and degree of peat decomposition) was carried out on 63 secondary data in the form of drill data and peat descriptions (made by the PSDMBP survey team in 2022). While analysis of microscopic physical characteristics (analysis of peat maturity level and type of maceral) and chemical characteristic analysis was carried out on 20 primary data in the form of proximate, ultimate, calorific value, moisture content, bulk density, and vitrinite reflectance (Ro) data, as well as 6 primary data in the form of maceral type. The reflectance vitrinite of peat samples in the study area ranged from 0.17 - 0.22 %. The types of maceral found in the peat samples in the study area varied with the dominance of humodetrinite and humotelinite/teloinertinite. The type of peat in all blocks is fibric with the dominant degree of decomposition H3 - H5. The average fuel ratio of peat in the study area (0.6), indicates that the peat in the study area is included in the fairly good ignition category. The average calorific value of peat in the study area is 5,135.87 - 5,771.57 cal/g (daf). The average ash content of the peat samples in the study area ranged from 3.30 - 12.84 % and the average total sulfur ranged from 0.21 - 1.87 %, which is in the low - medium category. However, an anomaly in the total sulfur value and high ash content was found in Block B. This anomaly indicates the influence of seawater during the accumulation of peat in the the low-lying swamp topography. Based on the maceral-type plot in the TPI-GI diagram, the depositional environment of the peat Block A, Block B, and Block C is lower delta plain - back barrier, upper delta plain - back barrier, and back barrier. The carbon storage capacity of peatlands for each block is 93,866,846 tons of dry peat.