| Egyptian Journal of Archeological and Restoration Studies

Authors:
Nagaty, E. ¹ (*), Fahmi, A. ² , Abdel Aziz, M. ³ & Wahba, W. <sup>4

1</sup> The Grand Egyptian Museum, Al. Remaya Square, Giza, Egypt
² Organic Chemistry, dept., Faculty of Science, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt
³ Microbiology dept., National Research Center, Dokki, Egypt
⁴ Conservation dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt

Abstract:
Historical papers such as documents, manuscripts, and early printed book pages, exposed to different conditions during storage (such as humidity and air pollution) may lead to degradation and embrittlement, due to depolymerization of cellulose fibres caused by acidity. As a result, one of the most important conservation measures is paper deacidification to protect historical papers from damage. For this purpose, two deacidification agent were used, calcium propionate in aqueous media, and Nano Magnesium Hydroxide in nonaqueous media. A comparative study of the efficiency of these eco- friendly deacidification methods has been conducted on two types of papers (natural acidity book paper and Whatman paper no.1) with elaborate findings. To assess the efficacy of the two deacidification agents on paper stability, Scientific analyses have been carried out including scanning electron Microscope, pH measurements, atomic absorption spectroscopy, colourimetry, Mechanical proprieties (tensile strength, double folds), FTIR and XRD. Both methods exhibit highly efficient in acid neutralization with a positive impact on the chemical and physical properties of the tested paper after accelerated aging. The examined treated samples confirmed how these methods suppressed the degradation of cellulose compared with the control samples enhances paper durability by introducing, moderate alkalinity (pH = 6.8-7.5 for acidic paper; 8.4-8.9 Whatman paper) and sufficient alkaline reserve. There is also a slight color variation (E* = 2.06 MH treated samples); Medium color variation (E*= 4.48 CP treated samples). Thermal aging indicates that the paper treated with these methods has enhanced stability. The findings indicate that Mg(OH)2 nano particles exhibits a better impact on the mechanical and chemical properties of treated paper than Calcium propionate.

Keywords:
Hydrolysis Acidity Deacidification Nano magnesium hydroxide Calcium propionate Analytical techniques

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