Evaluation of Guar Gum for the Consolidation of Some Cellulosic Packaging Materials for Mummies

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Conservation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt

2 MA student, Conservation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

3 Textile Research Division, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt, P.O. Box 12622, Giza 12522, Egypt

Abstract

As known, linen and muslin cotton fibers are used in museums and excavation areas as packaging materials for first aid of mummies. These materials with the course of long-term exposure to improper surrounding conditions become brittle, fragile, and very weak. The current research study aimed to evaluate the effect of guar gum with different concentrations for the consolidation of linen and muslin cotton samples. Additionally, the work aimed also to monitor the changes in the properties of these mate-rials after accelerated heat aging at 100℃. The analytical techniques used for this purpose were Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for examining the chemical changes, the morphological structure via using scanning electron microscope (SEM), mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation), color and weight change for the treated linen and muslin cotton fabrics. The findings of FTIR proved that there were low chemical changes in the aged treated samples compared to the aged untreated samples implying that the chemical stability of the treated samples was increased while treatment with guar gum. There was good distribution in the fiber structure of the treated samples as shown from SEM data. The aged treated samples showed less destruction in the fiber structure compared to the aged untreated samples. The mechanical properties were also improved. The total color differences obtained from treated and aged treated muslin cotton samples were better than the linen samples. Moreover, the accelerated heat aging had an effect on the weight of the aged treated samples, which were better than the aged untreated samples.

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