• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.108-115
• /
• 2012

Archaeological waterlogged woods found under the sea, in lakes, or in swamp environments are generally weak and fragile. If waterlogged wood materials were taken out of the water and left without modification, they would collapse and lose their original dimensions completely. Conservation is performed to replace the water with chemical agents and to give dimensional stabilization and durability. EDTA and PEG are the most commonly used in the preservation of wood. pH control-precipitation method is used for recovery of EDTA from waste fluid of archeological waterlogged wood conservation treatment. The black substance is eliminated from wood as Fe-EDTA complex are formed and EDTA is separated and precipitated from Fe-EDTA complexes at pH 2.68 or less. The result of analysis of the precipitated products and the commercial EDTA by FT-IR and FE-SEM showed that precipitated product by pH adjusted was not a type of Fe-EDTA complex, but pure EDTA. Waste fluid produced in PEG treatment shows the black color and has an offensive odor by organic matter extracted from wood. Color of waste fluid is decolored with oxidation reaction by peroxy hydrate. In FT-IR and SEM-EDX of PEG after freeze-drying process, no significant change of functional groups induced from oxidation is observed, and any metal ion does not exist in the solid PEG specimen. The molecular weight of PEG is measured using GPC and viscometry. Properties of PEG before and after preservation treatment, and after oxidation with $H_2O_2$ were not changed. Consequently, the peroxidation with $H_2O_2$ is a reasonable and simple method to decolor the used PEG solution.

• Journal of Conservation Science
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.225-235
• /
• 2020

The present study aimed to monitor changes in the amount of PEG free-flowing back from PEG-treated woods and compressive strength changes with change in relative humidity from 90% to 30%. The change in the relative humidity was done 3 times. For the current study, water-logged wood (Prinus group) was used and the wooden blocks cut out of it were subjected to 3 different impregnation methods combined with different drying conditions as follows: 1) impregnating with 80% PEG#4000 followed by drying in nature (hereafter PEG80), 2) impregnating with 40% PEG#4000 and then drying in vacuum freeze drying equipment (hereafter PEG40), and 3) impregnating with 40% PEG#4000 in t-butanol, followed by drying in the vacuum freeze drying equipment (hereafter TB40). It was verified that most of the PEG was free-flowing back from the PEG-treated woods; however, a small amount of left PEG was observed on the lumen surface. The amount of PEG free-flowing back from the PEG-treated woods increased whenever the relative humidity changes from 90% to 30%. The compressive strengths of PEG80 and TB40 were increased whenever the relative humidity changed from 90% to 30%, whereas PEG40 decreased. The current study showed how to control the relative humidity to effectively manage PEG-treated waterlogged woods.

• Journal of Conservation Science
• /
• v.8 no.1 s.11
• /
• pp.28-32
• /
• 1999

The performance of dimensional stabilization of lactitol, PEG (Mw, 4000), and sucrose was evaluated for thin sections of oak wood (Quercus sp.) that had been buried in underground for presumably 1500 years. Thin wood sections of the specimen were soaked for three and seven days in each stabilizing agent with wide concentration ranges of 10, 30, 50, and $70\%$ by weight. Sucrose showed the largest weight gain among three agents, and the shrinkage of cross sections were found to be $1\%\;and\;4\%$ for three and seven days soaking, respectively. The result showed that sucrose among three stabilizing agents used was the best for the dimensional stabilization of the oak wood.

• Journal of Conservation Science
• /
• v.17 s.17
• /
• pp.65-72
• /
• 2005

To preserve straw sandals excavated at Goongnamji site, this study examined the weight change rate by applying the methods of Primal MC-76 and vacuum freeze-drying used mostly as a earth-layer hardening material among PEG and acrylic resin, which are applied widely for preservation of waterlogged archaeological wood, as a means to preserve plant-based cultural properties along with the examination of the subject material. An experiment was also performed on moisture absorption after treatment. The materials of sandals were identified as Typha spp. The weight change experiment revealed that the vacuum freeze-drying after being treated with PEG 2-Step showed the most stabilized changes in weight, while it offered the smallest change in color as well.

• 한국문화재보존과학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2004.10a
• /
• pp.115-130
• /
• 2004

Plant-based cultural assets using straw and grass as household goods of our people's have been used as indispensable tools for practical living for a very long time. However, only a limited number of artifacts were unearthed so far due to tile fragility of the material. For this reason, research on plant-based cultural properties had close to no progress, and the appropriateness of the PEG method, high-grade alcohol method, alcohol--ether-resin method, and Paraloid B-72 used in preserving plant-based cultural properties has not been sufficiently investigated. Therefore, this study examined the weight change rate by applying the methods of Primal MC-76 and vacuum freeze-drying used mostly as a earth-layer hardening material among PEG and acrylic resin, which are applied widely for preservation of waterlogged archaeological wood, as a means to preserve plant-based cultural properties along with the examination of the subject material, and an experiment was also performed on moisture absorption. The findings as a result were, first, the plant-based material being studied was found to be Typha (Typha orientalis Presl). Secondly, the weight change experiment applying $PEG\#400$ and $PEG\#4000$ confirmed a steady increase of weight if PEG -2Step is used for treatment. Third, in preserving all subject materials with soil, treatment with $PEG\#4000$, Primal MC-76, and vacuum freeze-drying showed that tile vacuum freeze-drying method resulted in the largest or $20\%$ reduction in weight, while Primal MC-76 resulted in $18\%$ and $PEG\#4000$ in $8\%$ of weight reduction. It was concluded that, considering the stability of soil measurement, this came to be because resin permeation was carried out along with tile drying process. Fourth, the weight changes were found to be around $10\%$ in various humidity conditions after the preservation treatment. The greatest weight change rate was seen in the case of $PEG\#4000$, particularly having chemicals gush out in a high humidity (RH $84\%$ or higher) environment. In the case of Primal MC-76 and vacuum freeze-drying methods, $6\~8\%$ weight changes were detected, and the lowest weight change was found in the case of the vacuum freeze-drying method. Fifth, as for color changes after treatment, blackening occurred most strongly with $PEG\#4000$, while Primal MC-76 and vacuum freeze-drying manifested colors closest to dry straw or grass. However, the texture of straw was not very evident in the case of Primal MC-76, due to a glossy surface, but vacuum freeze-drying was found to offer tile best result in terms of texture. Putting together the results of the above experiments, vacuum freeze-drying presented after being treated with PEG2-Step the most stabilized changes in weight, while it offered the smallest change in color as well.