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/ >