Book conservation

1999/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Patenteak/Asmakizunak

Many areas of human knowledge and activity are collected on paper and kept as a treasure. It is also an important tool to know our past and history. But unfortunately paper ages and deteriorates because acidification, oxidation and microorganisms do their thing. That's why they have to be very careful in museums and archives.

The
team of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, made up of microbiologists, chemists and restorers in plasma research, has taken another step in the fight against these problems. This group uses plasma technology for the new system. So far, plasma technology has been used in the industry for both surface cleaning and material painting or for the preparation of protective coatings. Sterilization is also replaced in the pharmaceutical and food industries. And further it can be used in the restoration of documents.

The
paper is very sensitive and easy to deteriorate, so the plasma is not added directly. Gas molecules and atoms, highly reactivatable, are added in different steps under special conditions. Tests have been carried out with different types of paper and plasma, in which the papers that were stuck together or that had the lost color have been restored and readable, causing the disappearance of most black spots. Researchers have shown that plasma is effective against bacteria and molds. You can separate the pages from the application books of the technique, cover them with the protective layer of protection against external agents and re-code them so they can last a long time. 1.