The Alkaline Paper Advocate

Volume 2, Number 2
Jul 1989


Early Research on Acidity and Permanence

The following compilation was drawn from the Institute of Paper Chemistry's Bibliographic Series No. 213, "Permanence," by Jerry Byrne and Jack Weiner (1964). The "Reference Number" is that of the bibliography entry. Not every entry that mentioned acid is included, because trivial or derivative works are excluded. "Factors Identified" are the author's comments an the role of acidity in deterioration of paper, as given in the abstract.

Ref. # Date Author &/or lab Factors Identified
93 1910 Edlund Author asks whether large quantities of acid salts like alum could injure durability of paper.
69 1926 Dillont "Free acidity" is one of many factors identified.
155 1928 Hoffman "Internal" acidity; minimum pH should be 4.7.
67 1929 Bur. Stds. Acidity of paper accelerates deterioration.
156 1930 Hoffman & Olsen Minimum pH should be 4.8 or 5.0.
14 1930 Baker Acidic and oxidizing degradation.
39 1931 Bur. Stds. Acidity is closely related to change in alpha-cellulose content & loss of strength after aging.
211 1931 Korn pH value is important to durability.
267 1932 Minor Acidity of degraded paper bears no relation to its loss of folding strength.
198 1932 Klemm Complete absence of acidity is an important requirement.
323 1933 Rasch/Bur. Stds For stability, careful control of Bur. Stds. acidity is necessary.
266 1934 Minor Acidity is 1 of 6 factors to be manufactured for permanent/durable paper.
378 1935 Shaw/NBS pH 5.0 is optimal for stability. Higher acidity (i.e., lower pH) deteriorates paper.
57 1935 Clark Acidity is 1 of 4 or more factors.
28 1935 Berndt Reviews effect of pH on strength & permanence of paper.
406 1936 Strachen For permanence, use a pH of 6-7; omit alum & rosin.
166 1936 Jarrell/Dept. Agric. Most acidic papers deteriorate most rapidly
125 1939 Hanson Good sheets in book showed high pH.
37 1940 Brecht & Michaelis pH not correlated with heat stability at 120°C for 24 hours.
40 1948 Buyn Summarizes NBS work, explains it, 6 variables including pH.
172 1951 Kantrowitz Recommends pH of 5.0 or higher.
42 1951 Buyn Recommends only volatile organic acids be used.
227 1952 Langwell Sufficiently strong acid destroys even rag paper; acid form hydro cellulose, which damages paper.
334 1952 Reid pH should be higher than 5.0 for white paper and 4.7 for colored paper (text of abstract ambiguous).
279 1953 Mohrberg pH should be between 4.5 and 8.0.
251 1954 Mackenzie Any paper with a high residual acidity will yellow and embrittle with age.
19 1959 Barrow The low permanence of modern book paper is caused mainly by its acidity.
49 1959 Chene Permanence can be increased by substituting sodium aluminate for half the alum, thus increasing pH to 6.0.
157 1959 Angew. Chem. Acidity from chlorine & bisulfite residues reduce life expectancy, so neutralize them with CaCO3.
51 1959 Church Acidity is a major cause of book deterioration.
360 1960 Scott Long-life paper should have a pH 5-6.

 

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