Kylpyturpeen ominaisuudet ja laatusuositukset Suomessa (Characteristics and the quality guidelines of balneological peat in Finland)
Key Findings
- Full peer-reviewed journal treatment (with English summary) of the same 23-mire, 238-sample Finnish balneological peat survey reported at the 13th International Peat Congress (Korhonen 2008) — same author, same dataset
- Quality thresholds confirmed: humification H7-H8 (von Post scale), humic acids ≥20% dry weight, sulfur <0.30% DW, ash <15%, no harmful heavy metals
- Sphagnum-dominant peat (n=8 mires): pH 4.2 avg, humic acids 24.8% DW, fulvic acids 9.6% DW
- Carex-dominant peat (n=15 mires): pH 4.9 avg, humic acids 26.8% DW, fulvic acids 9.6% DW
- New statistical detail: significant positive correlation between humic acid content and degree of humification — Sphagnum peat r=0.54 (p=0.013), Carex peat r=0.69 (p=0.013), combined r=0.45 (p=0.002)
- Peat-water mixture did not begin cooling until roughly 30 minutes into treatment, versus plain water cooling 3.5°C in the standard 20-minute treatment window
A fuller, peer-reviewed journal version of the same 23-mire, 238-sample Finnish balneological peat survey already documented in Korhonen’s 2008 congress proceedings — same author (Riitta Korhonen, GTK), same dataset, same core composition figures. It corroborates rather than adds to the compositional claims already sourced from that earlier paper, but it does contribute one genuinely new element: the actual correlation statistics (r=0.54–0.69, p<0.02) behind the previously qualitative observation that humic acid content rises with humification degree. It also documents a stronger heat-retention result than the 2008 paper — peat-water mixtures held their temperature for roughly 30 minutes before beginning to cool at all, versus water’s steady 3.5°C drop over 20 minutes.