GoGreen deliverable D2.3: Protocols for Early Assessment of Individual Objects

This deliverable has been submitted to the European Commission but has not yet been formally approved.


This deliverabe provides the analytical methods for stone, ceramic and glass that can be used to identify and classify materials into stable and less stable groups, following extensive investigations.

Executive summary
Preventive conservation is presently applied considering material groups, assuming they react identically. There is often very large difference in reactivity across a material group. For example, some glasses are stable to high RH values whilst others rapidly deteriorate at even 50%. This document provides the analytical methods for stone, ceramic and glass that can be used to identify and classify materials into stable and less stable groups, following extensive investigations.

For stone materials (section 2.1), the first method describes FTIR analysis to identify the swelling clays that may be present in the objects. The subsequent methods provide the steps for the identification of soluble salts using a poultice technique, and two possible analytical techniques (ion chromatography and specific ion meters). The poulticing technique has also been adapted and described for ceramic objects (section 2.2). The methodologies to assess early stages of glass degradation (section 2.3) using a swabbing method, ion chromatography and specific ion meters is provided in the subsequent section.

The final section (section 2.4) contains the instructions to correct the ion chromatography data for gypsum to allow for input into ECOS Runsalt Software v1.9. ECOS was the European project that developed the thermodynamic modelling. Runsalt is the program that allows users to input their salt data. Three possible methods are described for accessibility. The ECOS Runsalt software allows users to plot the data at different temperatures and relative humidities. This information can be used to predict the regions of risk for each salt present in the material. The final instructions provide detailed information on how to create a graph in Microsoft Excel that displays the regions of risk for salts and the environmental data from a site. This allows users to determine whether additional environmental controls are necessary due to the amount of time the environmental data falls within the regions of risk.

As this document presents methodologies only, there are no conclusions to present. The dissemination and subsequent use of these methods contributes to the development of green preventive conservation practices by providing conservators with information on the vulnerability of objects to different environmental conditions and the degree to which environmental controls are required.