Prev. Article Next Article Table of Contents

Article

The Chemistry of Paper Preservation: Part 1. The Aging of Paper and Conservation Techniques

Citing Articles

Your current credentials do not allow retrieval of the full text.

Purchase the full-text

PDF/HTML,
figures/images,
references and tables,
(where available)

Henry A. Carter

Augustana University College, Camrose, AB, Canada T4V 2R3

J. Chem. Educ., 1996, 73 (5), p 417

DOI: 10.1021/ed073p417

Publication Date (Web): May 1, 1996

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

This study provides an introduction to the problem of the aging of paper and the conservation techniques that are currently being employed in paper preservation. The chemical reactions that are responsible for the aging of paper are discussed with the conclusion that acid-catalyzed hydrolysis is the predominant mechanism for cellulose degradation and strength loss. A description and the chemistry of a number of mass deacidification methods are presented. The more viable deacidification methods include the DEZ, Wei T'o, FMC, Bookkeeper, Viennese, Book Preservation Associates, Sable and the Batelle processes. A summary of the literature on the evaluations of these processes is presented, and the benefits and limitations of the mass deacidification methods are discussed. Other conservation techniques such as paper strengthening, conservation bleaching, and pest control are briefly introduced, followed by an introduction to alkaline papermaking.

Keywords (Audience):

General Public

Keywords (Domain):

Public Understanding / Outreach

Keywords (Subject):

Acids / Bases

View: Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links

Citing Articles

View all 4 citing articles

Citation data is made available by participants in CrossRef's Cited-by Linking service. For a more comprehensive list of citations to this article, users are encouraged to perform a search in SciFinder.

This article has been cited by 4 ACS Journal articles (4 most recent appear below).

A chemical and physicochemical investigation of an aminoalkylalkoxysilane as strengthening agent for cellulosic materials
Zied Souguir , Anne-Laurence Dupont , Jean-Baptiste D'Espinose De Lacaillerie , Bertrand Lavedrine , and herve cheradame
Biomacromolecules 0 (ja),
- A chemical and physicochemical investigation of an aminoalkylalkoxysilane as strengthening agent for cellulosic materials
  Zied Souguir , Anne-Laurence Dupont , Jean-Baptiste D'Espinose De Lacaillerie , Bertrand Lavedrine , and herve cheradame
  Biomacromolecules 0 (ja),
  AMDES (aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane) was used to investigate the physicochemical and chemical events related to the introduction of aminoalkylalkoxysilanes in cellulosic materials. Using 29Si CP-MAS and 1H NMR to study the reactivity and structural ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
The Chemistry of Paper Preservation. Part 5. Permanent Paper
Henry A. Carter
Journal of Chemical Education2007 84 (12), 1937
- The Chemistry of Paper Preservation. Part 5. Permanent Paper
  Henry A. Carter
  Journal of Chemical Education2007 84 (12), 1937
  The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose accounts for the deterioration of paper in library books and other written records. To combat this threat to our written heritage, new permanent papers have been developed that are relatively chemically stable ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
The Chemistry of Paper Preservation: Part 4. Alkaline Paper
Henry A. Carter
Journal of Chemical Education1997 74 (5), 508
- The Chemistry of Paper Preservation: Part 4. Alkaline Paper
  Henry A. Carter
  Journal of Chemical Education1997 74 (5), 508
  The inherent instability of old papers is largely due to the presence of acids which catalyze the hydrolytic degradation of cellulose. The use of alkaline paper can minimize the problem of acidity for new papers. This study focuses on the chemistry ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links
The Chemistry of Paper Preservation Part 3. The Strengthening of Paper
Henry A. Carter
Journal of Chemical Education1996 73 (12), 1160
- The Chemistry of Paper Preservation Part 3. The Strengthening of Paper
  Henry A. Carter
  Journal of Chemical Education1996 73 (12), 1160
  The following study describes the parylene and graft copolymerization processes that have been developed to strengthen fragile or brittle paper artifacts. Theparylene process involves vaporizing di-para-xylylene at 150o - 250 oC and splitting the dimeric ...
  Abstract | Hi-Res PDF | PDF w/ Links