A number of yesrs ago, at the (then) Virginia State Library and
Archives, the late William J. Barrow experimented with a
gas-phase deacidification process using _morpholine_, an amine.
To make a long story short, a.) the process was found to be
efficacious, in that it did indeed deacidify, i.e., raise the
pH of the books and archives thus treated; but b.) the community of
interest decided - you might say, changed the rules - that it
_also_ wanted a residual buffering capacity . . . which the
morpholine process, alas, did not offer. So, it fell into
desuetude (there were other problems, too, such as the fact
that amines are almost always carcinogens); but the lack of
buffering was enough. I believe that the story is told more
completely in the literature. If anyone wants to know more,
either buzz me off-list, or write me.
Henry Grunder
Conservation/Preservation Coordinator
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond VA 23219-1905
According to Jack C. Thompson:
>
> Dear Christine,
>
> I am not familiar with any commercial non-aqueous deacidification process
> which will not leave an alkaline buffer; indeed, if there is no buffering,
> why deacidify? ,  Be that as it may, I do know that
> deacidification/buffering is most effective if applied during he first
> half-dozen years or so.  Past that time, the useful effect diminishes
> rapidly.
>
> Jack
>
> >Date:    Mon, 3 Mar 1997 13:40:20 -0500
> >From:    Christine Mouw <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: gaseous deacidification process
> >
> >Dear list readers:
> >
> >I have an opportunity to send some of our works of art on paper to a
> >company called Midwest Freeze Dry in Chicago for deacidification.  I
> >know that the process is a gaseous deacidification process, that no
> >alkaline material is left behind and it is done in a "tank".
>
> -Snip-
>
> >Christine Mouw
> >Assistant Curator
> >Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum
> >West Branch, Iowa  52358
> >[log in to unmask]
>
> Jack C. Thompson
>
> Thompson Conservation Lab.
> 7549 N. Fenwick                               I hear and I forget,
> Portland, Oregon  97217                       I see and I remember,
>                                               I do and I understand.
> www.teleport.com/~tcl/
>