Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books
A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology

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sulfuric acid

A heavy, viscous, colorless, odorless, and relatively non-volatile acid (H 2 SO 4 ). It is miscible in all proportions with water and can be formed in book materials, especially in paper. See: SULFUR DIOXIDE .

It is a very powerful acid and is highly destructive to cellulosic and proteinaceous materials, such as paper and leather. Sulfuric acid was also used, particularly in the 19th century, in the execution of many so-called cover marbles, and is still used in leather manufacture for bleaching, deliming, pickling, pH control, and the like. (207 , 235 , 363 )




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