Uptake of Air Pollutants by Paper

Johansson, Anna; Kolseth, Petter; Lindqvist, Oliver

doi:10.1515/rest.2000.117

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The main pollutant of concern was SO 2 , with outdoor concentrations in London, UK, of up to 200 ppb in the 1950s and 1960s (Brimblecombe 2006;Brimblecombe and Grossi 2010) and consequently, a lot of research was done on the effects of SO 2 on paper (Johansson et al 1998;Bégin et al 1999;Adelstein et al 2003). The concentration of sulfur dioxide however decreased significantly over the past few decades and will continue to decrease in the future (Brimblecombe andGrossi 2009, 2010), which means it is may no longer represent a significant risk to historic paper in post-industrial environments, but may still be a concern elsewhere (Agbota et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of NO2 and acetic acid on the stability of historic paper

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research investigates degradation of historic paper in polluted environments during longterm dark storage. In an innovative experiment, degradation rates at realistic pollution levels are compared with degradation rates in the absence of pollution, using a set of real historic papers. The most abundant pollutants in repositories in post-industrial environments are taken into account: acetic acid and nitrogen dioxide. Their action was assessed in terms of reduction of 'handling' (as defined by decrease in degree of polymerisation) and 'display' (as defined by discolouration) lifetimes. Extrapolations to room conditions enabled lifetime predictions in conditions that are comparable to a real archival or library repository environments while prediction uncertainties were analytically evaluated to assess the significance of conclusions. While 10 ppb of NO 2 does reduce the handling lifetime of almost all types of paper, their predicted lifetimes were still assessed to be several millennia, with the exception of acidic paper. Acetic acid at concentrations that are typical for archival and library repositories (\100 ppb) has significantly less effect than NO 2 while it does not affect display lifetimes. From a conservation management perspective, it needs to be addressed whether the predicted reductions in otherwise significant handling lifetimes are of real concern and whether air filtration in archival and library repositories is justified.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of NO2 and acetic acid on the stability of historic paper

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…More specifically related to the phenomenon of the gain in opacity, Johansson mentions that the presence of NO 2 allows for a greater pick-up rate of SO 2 on the paper and promotes the formation of gypsum. 2 Since then, Letnar and Muck found that paper samples submitted to accelerated aging registered a decrease of brightness and an increase in yellowness as well as an increase in opacity. They attribute this to an altered gelatine sizing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of Air-Induced Paper Discolorations by Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray Fluorescence, and Scanning Electron Microscopy

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Air-induced paper discoloration is described as being different from other discoloration morphologies. It seems to be the result of prolonged exposure to air in a humid and polluted environment without appropriate protecting coverage. In this work, three folios from the same eighteenth century book, presenting three degrees of discoloration and opacity and subjected to different environmental conditions, were examined and compared. Samples were analyzed and compared by three different instrumental techniques, mid-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Chemical and physical changes were confirmed from the data collected by these techniques. The absence of the secondary amide band characteristic of proteins in the infrared spectra of the two discolored folios, accompanied by the appearance and increase of white mineral-like deposits visible in the SEM micrographs, support the idea that oxidation reactions occurred and that these two folios were subjected to more severe degradation hazard.

show abstract