Author(s)

Michael Ndangano Bulangashane¹, Alex Kalonji-Kabambi¹, Grâce Bwemere Ciribuka²

¹School of Mines, Université Officielle de Bukavu (UOB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
²Faculty of Sciences, Université Officielle de Bukavu(UOB), Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The physico-chemical characterization of the Nangongo peat bog in South Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was conducted in this study. The results show that the characteristics of this peat bog are like those of other peat bogs presented in the literature. The Nangongo peat bog belongs to the ombrotrophic peat bog category. The physical and chemical characteristics of the samples analyzed showed a generally low ash content compared with the volatile matter content, and a deficiency of certain minerals such as silica, calcium, and magnesium oxides. The average organic carbon content of 51.2% classifies it as a mature peat bog. As for calorific value, this is of the order of 5584 kcal/kg, higher than the limit required by certain authors for the use of peat as fuel.

Peat Bog, Peat, Ash Content, Volatile Matter, Calorific Value

Bulangashane, M.N., Kalonji-Kabambi, A. and Ciribuka, G.B. (2023) Physico-Chemical Characterization of the Nangongo Peat Bog in South Kivu Province, DRC. Open Access Library Journal, 10, 1-20. doi: 10.4236/oalib.1110591.