Anoxia

I work for a small archaeological museum.  The collection includes
dyed textiles (wool and flax), leather, wood, and metals.  Humidity
in the display cases is currently controlled by a passive system
(using Artsorb and bentonite).

We have recently been contacted by a company that supplies
controlled-air systems to hospitals and libraries.  They suggested a
system that will supply filtered air, rich in nitrogen (10% oxygen)
at the required humidity to individual display cases.

The system will require a pressure inside the cases higher by 2-3 Pa
from the outside environment.

I would welcome any comments about such a system in general, and
particularly about the pressure and the anoxia.

I am aware of problematic effects that anoxia may have on textiles,
and on dyed textiles in particular.  There is no way we can analyse
the composition of the dyes and binders, and I therefore asked to
remove this component from the system.

I noticed, however, that the articles I found on the subject
referred to less than 1% oxygen, while the suggested system will
keep it at 10%.  I prefer to err on the side of caution, but would
appreciate any comments, or pointers to relevant literature.

R.S Gabrieli
+61 2 80035375
+61 8 9467 7363
+972 2 6786984


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:36
                Distributed: Saturday, February 6, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-36-022
                                  ***