deacidification

Deacidification is a chemical process used in library science to preserve paper-based materials that are deteriorating due to acidity. Much paper from the 19th and 20th centuries contains acid from the manufacturing process, which, combined with air pollution, causes books to disintegrate.12

Deacidification can neutralize this acid and sometimes strengthen the weakened paper. This is an important part of preservation, especially when reformatting the material is not ideal, such as when the original artifact has intrinsic value or information might be lost in the reformatting process. While publishers are increasingly using non-acidic paper to prevent future deterioration, deacidification remains a key technique for treating existing collections.13