Dr. Marvin Moroeng 

Dr. Marvin Moroeng holds a PhD in Coal Geology and Geochemistry from the University of Pretoria (awarded in 2019), which was supervised by Dr. James Roberts and Prof. Nikki Wagner. He was first appointed as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Geology at the University of Johannesburg in 2016, and was subsequently promoted to the position of Lecturer in 2018, following the completion of his doctoral studies. His current research areas, which he is undertaking in collaboration with Prof. Wagner and a number of postgraduate students at UJ, can be grouped into three main themes: (1) the origin of macerals in South African coals; (2) understanding the evolution and development of palaeomires using a combination of geochemistry (stable carbon isotopes) and petrology; and, (3) the effect of igneous intrusions on various coal properties. The research is undertaken mainly using a combination of petrographic and geochemical techniques.

 

Beyond this, Dr. Moroeng is currently engaged in research into the coals of Inner Mongolia, China in collaboration with the International Research Center for Coal Geology which is hosted by the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. The collaborators on this project include Prof. Jian Shen, Prof. Shifeng Dai, Dr. Jingjing Liu (all based at CUMT) and Prof. Tim Moore (Cipher Coal Consulting, Australia). Dr. Moroeng is an Associate Member of the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology (ICCP) and has thus far published five papers.

  1. Moroeng, O.M., Roberts, R.J., Bussio, J.P., Dixon, R.D., 2017. Self-heating Potential of Coal inferred from Elemental Data – A Case-study of the Witbank Coalfield of South Africa. Energy & Fuels 31 (11), 11811-11817. DOI:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02109
  2. Moroeng, O.M., Wagner, N.J., Brand, D.J., Roberts, R.J., 2018. A Nuclear Magnetic Resonance study: Implications for coal formation in the Witbank Coalfield, South Africa. International Journal of Coal Geology 188, 145-155. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2018.02.010
  3. Moroeng, O.M., Keartland, J.M., Roberts, R.J., Wagner, N.J., 2018. Characterization of coal using electron spin resonance: implications for the formation of inertinite macerals in the Witbank Coalfield, South Africa. International Journal of Coal Science & Technology 5 (3), 385-398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40789-018-0212-7
  4. Moroeng, O.M., Wagner, N.J., Hall, G., Roberts, R.J. 2018. Using δ15N and δ13C and nitrogen functionalities to support a fire origin for certain inertinite macerals in a No. 4 Seam Upper Witbank coal, South Africa. Organic Geochemistry 126, 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2018.10.007
  5. Moroeng, O.M., Mhuka, V., Nindi, M.M., Roberts, R.J., Wagner, N.J., 2019. Comparative study of a vitrinite-rich and an inertinite-rich Witbank coal (South Africa) using pyrolysis-gas chromatography. International Journal of Coal Science & Technology 6 (4), 621-632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40789-019-00274-3