The effect of volatile organic compounds and hypoxia on paper degradation

The possible effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and of hypoxic conditions on the durability of library and archival collections have been investigated. There is growing evidence that particularly in micro-environments, there may be an important contribution of these indoor-generated pollutants to the degradation of paper. However, since the principal source of VOCs in repositories is the collections themselves, there are also significant possibilities for less stable papers, which are net VOC emitters, to promote the degradation of more stable papers, which may be net VOC absorbers. Using a range of model and real historic papers, the influence of acetic acid, formic acid, furfural, toluene, 1,4-diethylbenzene, iso-butylbenzol, 2-pentylfuran, paraformaldehyde, hexanal and vanillin was evaluated by adding them to samples degraded in closed vessels at elevated temperature. Possible protective effects of the use of activated charcoal cloth, oxygen removal, and of various chemisorbents were also investigated. The results strongly suggest that particularly VOCs with acidic or oxidisable functions can have a strong effect on degradation of cellulose. This is less pronounced in lignin-containing and acidic papers and more pronounced in papers with a small alkaline reserve. The removal of VOCs from the immediate environment can have a pronounced beneficial effect on papers emitting VOCs more intensively, in fact, the lifetime expectancy can be doubled. The results have immediate implications for storage of paper-based heritage in enclosures, but also for initiation of long-term VOC monitoring programmes in libraries and archives, where significant development is still needed.