Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

Thermophysical study of peat from the Iberian
Peninsula for thermotherapeutic applications
Míguez E (1) , Gómez CP (1) , Soto A (1) , Mourelle ML (1) , Legido JL (1)
(1) Department of Applied Physics. Faculty of Science. University of Vigo .Spain
evamiguez@uvigo.es
Introduction and Objectives
Peat consists of hyper-thermalised peloids which are made up of a peaty solid
component and a liquid component, mainly mineral waters but which can sometimes
be seawater. The solid component is made up mostly of an organic plant
decaying part, and is the most abundant part, while the inorganic component, which
can reach up to 40%, varies according to the composition at its place of origin. The
therapeutic use of peloids is called pelotherapy and is focused on treating different
pathologies. An analysis of their physico-chemical properties is of great importance
to ascertain whether such products are ideal for thermotherapeutic applications.
Peat has hydrotherapeutic value because of its organic content and is used in
treating rheumatisms, sports injuries, metabolic disorders, skin problems, gynaecology,
allergies, and for cosmetic treatments.
This study looks into the thermophysical properties of several peat samples collected
from the Iberian peninsula to assess whether they are suitable for use in
thermotherapy.
Materials and Methods
The peat used comes from the Iberian peninsula.
The following physico-chemical characteristics are studied: density and specific
heat. Both are important to the ideal application of peat.
The density measurement has been analyzing for pycnometry. The technique is
described in Deeds and Van Olphen (1961) using hexane and tridistilled water as
reference liquids. The specific heat has been measured in a Calvet
microcalorimeter.
Results
The obtained density values in the studied temperature range are between 1000
and 1200 kg/m3 for organic phase and the mixtures of peat + waters. The specific
heat increases with increasing concentration of the waters. Thus, the more concentrated
samples exhibit also higher increase in specific heat values with the temperature
Conclusions
For the preparation of a peloid is important to take into account the
thermophysical properties (density and specific heat). The results of this study can
Balnea
2012, núm. 6, 150-151
150
ISBN: 978-84-669-1887-0
978-84-669-3482-4