Machines. Technologies. Materials.
Vol. 19 (2025), Issue 9, pg(s) 342-345

TECHNOLOGIES

Еffects of gamma irradiation technology on biodeteriorated paper materials determined by thermogravimetry

  • 1 University of Sofia “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia, Bulgaria
  • 2 BULGAMMA, Sopharma AD, Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

The present manuscript describes some of the results obtained as part of a research contract investigating the effects of gamma irradiation on leather and library materials. Six samples of books and magazines, produced in Germany, the USA, and the former USSR between 1896 and 1962, were selected. All paper materials showed visible signs of biodeterioration and environmental damage. The samples were gamma-irradiated with a dose of 20 kGy using BULGAMMA radiation facility, based on the JS-850 60Co gamma irradiator at Sopharma AD, Bulgaria. The applied dose rate was 0.47 kGy/h. The effects of gamma irradiation were studied using thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed a 13% reduction in residual mass at 700 °C in the 1962 Soviet Union Newsletter, accompanied by a 3.6% decrease in the temperature (Tmax) at maximum weight loss rate. An 8.7% increase in residual mass at 700 °C was observed in the 1952 Reference Journal, and a 6.6% increase was measured in a German monograph from 1923. The study revealed that the effects of gamma radiation on paper structure depend on both the degree of prior damage and the type and composition of the paper.

Keywords

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