Characterisation of Waterlogged Wooden Artefacts Impregnated with Starch: Comparison with PEGs Methods.

Abstract

Experiments were performed using starch solutions and two PEGs (400 and 4000) as the impregnating materials for waterlogged woods treatment for conservation. This paper aimed to compare the devised starch impregnating method with the PEG treatments for waterlogged wood conservation. The proposed process consisted in using for wood impregnation coupled with a thermal treatment and a drying. The thermal treatment had two consequences: a total elimination of bacteria and a consolidation of waterlogged wood samples which was confirmed by a good dimensional stabilization of the treated samples. This comparative study showed the proposed method give the same results as impregnation with the two resins in terms of dimensional stabilisation but better results in terms of colour preservation