BIOCIDES USED IN PRESERVATION, RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION OF THE PAPER

The number of materials of cellulosic nature treated with biocides used as support for editing of the books has increased considerably in recent years in order to have control over the bacteria and fungi, the natural phenomenon of biodeterioration, the appearance of stains and odours caused by microorganisms action. The purpose of this article is to highlight the role played by biocides in the destruction of microorganisms that attack irreversibly the paper, but also in the processes of preservation, restoration and conservation. The information printed on cellulosic material - paper, has a special significance as it ensures the link between present and future by sending a set of values from one generation to another. The microorganisms that can grow on cellulosic materials produce different organic acids, which determine the decrease of pH attacking the paper, making it fragile and, ulterior, predisposed to deterioration; by the action of biocides these phenomena are stopped.