Abstract
Acetic acid is known to be emitted from sound wood and can accelerate damage to heritage materials, particularly metals. However, few studies have investigated the extent of acetic acid emissions from archaeological wood. This research utilised Solid-Phase-Micro-Extraction (SPME) GC–MS and lead coupon corrosion to identify volatile emissions from polyethylene glycol (PEG)-treated archaeological wood from the Mary Rose collection and assess if they could cause accelerated damage. In addition, the effect of PEG treatment on acetic acid emissions was investigated using sound wood samples. For sound wood, the PEG treatment acted as a barrier to acetic acid emissions, with higher-molecular-weight PEGs preventing more emissions. Archaeological wood, despite its age and high-molecular-weight PEG treatment, still emitted detectable concentrations of acetic acid. Moreover, they emitted a wider array of compounds compared to sound wood, including carbon disulphide. Like sound wood, when the archaeological wood samples were in a sealed environment with lead coupons, they caused accelerated corrosion to lead. This evidences that archaeological wood can emit high enough concentrations of volatile compounds to cause damage and further investigation should be performed to evaluate if this can occur inside museum display cases.
Highlights
Sound wood emits acetic acid, which is known to accelerate damage to a range of heritage materials [1,2,3]
Whilst the concentration emitted might be minimal with respect to Polyethylene glycol (PEG) degradation, the volatile formic acid emitted could have a negative impact on other heritage materials if allowed to concentrate inside display cases over time
This paper uses SPME-GC–MS to identify the emissions from PEG-treated archaeological wood from the Mary Rose collection—a collection which contains the wooden hull and contents of the Mary Rose, an English Tudor warship
Summary
Sound wood emits acetic acid, which is known to accelerate damage to a range of heritage materials [1,2,3]. Whilst the concentration emitted might be minimal with respect to PEG degradation, the volatile formic acid emitted could have a negative impact on other heritage materials if allowed to concentrate inside display cases over time. It could lower the pH of the wood and accelerate hydrolysis of wood cellulose fibre [8]. This paper uses SPME-GC–MS to identify the emissions from PEG-treated archaeological wood from the Mary Rose collection—a collection which contains the wooden hull and contents of the Mary Rose, an English Tudor warship These emissions included acetic acid and carbon disulphide, which are known to damage some heritage materials. The effect of PEG treatment on acetic acid emissions from sound wood was investigated, which was found to reduce acetic acid emissions
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