Acid activity of wood

Jerry Shiner <keepsafe [at] interlog__com> writes

>Could someone tell me the acid volatilities of various common woods,
>or of where to find this information?

Wood releases organic acids.  Acetic acid and formic acid are the
most significant with respect to preservation of artifacts,
especially acetic acid. This has been hypothesized based on the
analysis of corrosion products and chemistry of these acids.

Oak is notorious for release high levels of acetic acid.  High
levels are parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per cubic meter
(ug/m3) and even parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per cubic
meter (mg/m3).  At these levels susceptible objects are at risk. The
greatest risk is when the acids are released into an enclosed
environment with the object inside such as a storage cabinet or
display case.  There are many factors that contribute to the risk
include the museum standards of temperature and humidity.

Other woods release organic acids.  The US Forestry has tested
numerous woods and ranked them according to their acidity.  However,
the specific acidity of a board is dependent on the felled tree.
I.e., there is variance within species.

Following is a list of older references, but the ones listed in
Conservation DistList Instance: 12:86, May 10, 1999, are great too.

    (1977). The Formaldehyde Problem in Wood-Based Products--An
    Annotated Bibliography, USDA Forest Service.

    Arni, P. C., G. C. Cochrane, et al. (1965). The Emission of
    Corrosive Vapours by Wood.  I. Survey of the Acid-Release
    Properties of Certain Freshly Felled Hardwoods and Softwoods.
    Journal of Applied Chemistry(July): 305-313.

    Arni, P. C., G. C. Cochrane, et al. (1965). The Emission of
    Corrosive Vapors by Wood. J. of Appl. Chem. 15: 463-468.

    Arni, P. C., G. C. Cochrane, et al. (1965). The Emission of
    Corrosive Vapours by Wood. I. Survey of the Acid-release
    Properties of Certain Freshly Felled Hardwoods and Softwoods. J.
    Appl. Chem. 15(July): 305-313.

    Berndt, H. (1987). Assessing the Detrimental Effects of Wood and
    Wood Products on the Environment Inside Display Cases. AIC,
    Vancouver, BC.

    Budd, M. K. (1965). Corrosion of Metals in Association with
    Wood. Applied Materials Research: 124-125.

    Clarke, S. G. and E. E. Longhurst (1961). The Corrosion of
    Metals by Acid Vapours from Wood. J Appl. Chem. 11: 435-444.

    Farmer, R. H. (1962). Corrosion of Metals in Association with
    Wood:  Part 2. Corrosion of metals in contact with wood.
    Wood(November): 443-446.

    Farmer, R. H. (1962). Corrosion of Metals in Association with
    Wood:  Part1. corrosion by acidic vapours from wood.
    Wood(August): 326-328.

    Matthews, T. G., A. R. Hawthorne, et al. Formaldehyde Release
    from Pressed-Wood Products, US Product Safety Commission.

    Matthews, T. G., A. R. Hawthorne, et al. (1984). Environmental
    Dependence of Formaldehyde Emissions from Pressed-Wood Products:
    Experimental Studies and Modeling. Washington State University
    International Particleboard/Composite Materials Series
    Symposium, Pullman, WA, US Product Safety Commission.

    Meyer, B. and K. Hermanns (1985). Formaldehyde Release from
    Urea-Formaldehyde Bonded Wood Products. J. Adhesion 17: 297-308.

    Packman, D. F. (1960). The Acidity of Wood. Holzforshung 14(6):
    178-183.

    Sass-Kortsak, A. M., D. L. Holness, et al. (1986). Wood Dust and
    Formaldehyde Exposures in the Cabinet-Making Industry. Am. Ind.
    Hyg. Assoc. J. 47(12): 747-753.

    Schniewind, A. P. (1985). Evaluation of Corrosive Emissions from
    Wood and Wood Products, Forest Products Laboratory Technical
    Report.

    Werner, G. Corrosion of Metal Caused by Wood in Closed Spaces.
    Recent Advances in the Conservation and Analysis of Artifacts
    Jubilee Conservation Conference Papers, Summer School Press.

Cecily M. Grzywacz
Associate Scientist
Science Group
The Getty Conservation Institute
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA   90049-1684
310-440-6260
Fax: 310-440-7711

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:87
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 13, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-87-002
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