Desiccant

Victoria Book <vbook [at] ou__edu> writes

>The Conservation Committee of SPNHC (Society for the Preservation of
>Natural History Collections) was recently approached by the sales
>manager for H2O Control Products, Inc., a new Canadian company whose
>(under construction) website is <URL:http://www.h2ocontrol.com>. The
>company has mainly marketed to the industrial sector regarding
>products that stop water from entering electrical and communication
>systems, stop rust and corrosion, etc.  He writes that his product
>line is "far superior" to silica gel and would be a "good fit" for
>museum applications.

There is no specific information on the website regarding the
specific properties of this product; however the MSDS sheet
describes it as a dielectric oil mixture. This will absorb moisture
but since it never reaches equilibrium with the relative humidity of
the surrounding air, then no, it cannot release moisture vapor to
buffer against changes in RH.

There are a number of products that absorb water, but many of these
are chemicals that would not be advisable to be placed in exhibition
cases. In regards to silica gel, the question is how the silica gel
is used. If it is intended to control the relative humidity in a
sealed space, this material is inappropriate. If it is simply used
as a desiccant, than this material may be appropriate if it is
chemically stable and safe to use in the vicinity of museum
collections.

Steven Weintraub
Conservation / Environmental Consultant
Art Preservation Services


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 20:46
                  Distributed: Friday, March 23, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-20-46-005
                                  ***