Verification of Occurring White Fine Particles of MgO on the Surface of Archival Materials During Deacidification Process

After completing deacidification process and evacuating rest of solvent, white fine particles of MgO are found on the surface of archival materials, such as books and documents. When MgO particles remain on the surface of archives, instead of being well dispersed and absorbed into cellulose fiber of archives, such white fine particles are found. These particles have raised concerns for employees' deacidification environment and their health; however, the concerns have not been addressed. To find the cause of white fine particles on the surface of archives after deacidification process and to propose the its solution, an acidic paper and wood free paper were applied with deacidifying chemicals. We analyzed the domestic and abroad deacidifying chemicals' physical properties and conducted deacidifcation processes to find effects of different contents and sizes of MgO on white fine particles. When the size of MgO particle was 847 nm, there was significantly less amount of white fine particles on the surface of archival materials. This means that the size of MgO particle plays a significant role in producing white fine particles on the surface of archives.