Influence of the Alkalified Tragacanth Gum on optical and Mechanical Strenght of the Historical Paper Documents

The aim of this study is the assessment of the tragacanth gum, its optimization and usage as a strengthener for restoration the strength and durability to the historic papery documents. In this study the tragacanth gum were extracted with different weight percentages, then Calcium Hydroxide and Glycerol were added to them for increasing the amount of PH and flexibility, respectively. The treatment was sprayed three times by 3.5 ml using spray can, then the samples were put in an aging condition of temperature- humidity by the standard No. of ISIRI- 4706 over 12 days, and aging condition of light by the standard No. ASTM D6819-02e3 standard over 6 days. The findings show that PH was increased about 0.75 to 2.20 per unit in the treatment samples in comparison to the control sample in before and after aging process, which it is transferred to the alkaline range. The SEM analysis indicated the continuity of the broken fibers. Tensile stress analysis showed an increase of the strength in the samples before and after of aging about to 15% depending on the gum consumption. Moreover, the results of colorimetric reported the absolute color changes of the reinforcement samples and control samples about 0.145 and 0.372 before and after aging with unchanging in the strengthener material.