Ghiocel Ioanid, Dorina Rusu, Simona Dunca, Cătalin Tănase:

Comparative studies on decontamination- cleaning treatments of paper through low pressure plasma process and corona effect.

The cleaning and decontamination of paper are essential operations in view of the long-term preservation of historical documents. But handling manuscripts during the aqueous treatment may induce some hazards, such as the bleeding of inks and pigments or the increased brittleness of the paper.

In recent years, mixed teams of researchers have been studying the possibilities of applying a dry treatment in order to allow the decontamination along with cleaning of documents, gathered into a single method that would reduce the risks of repeated manipulation.
Among the physical methods to be considered suitable, is the low frequency plasma processes and the Corona effect. Our studies were carried out on historical documents from the late 19th century. The results were emphasized through microbiological analysis. Changes in the surface of the analyzed paper samples were examined using SEM, FTIR and spectrophotometric measurements (colour changes and brightness).

These alternatives proved to be efficient and ecologically friendly methods that will reduce the need for using chemical agents in conservation, thus contributing to a safer environment not only for conservators or restorers, but also for librarians or archive users.