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Innovative packaging solutions for storage and conservation of 20th century cultural heritage of artefacts based on cellulose derivate

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - NEMOSINE (Innovative packaging solutions for storage and conservation of 20th century cultural heritage of artefacts based on cellulose derivate)

Reporting period: 2021-02-01 to 2022-05-31

A huge percentage of the recent European cultural heritage (CH) can be found in movies, photographs, posters and slides produced between 1895 to nowadays were made using cellulose derivatives. More than 75 years of visual and audio memories are up to now in serious danger to be lost due to the natural instability cellulose acetate (CA) and cellulose nitrate (CN) materials produced by the “vinegar syndrome”.
NEMOSINE aimed to improve the traditional storage solutions, such as freeze storage, by developing an innovative smart package with the main goal of energy saving and extent conservation time of cultural objects based on cellulose derivatives. Beyond the state of the art NEMOSINE planned to develop the following modular and integrated products: active acid (AA) adsorbers, gas detection sensors, multi-scale modelling and packaging with modular design.
The main targets of NEMOSINE project were cellulose derivatives, from photographic, movies and audio substrates.

Conclusions:
- A prototype of the NEMOSINE box has been developed accomplishing all the requirements of each audiovisual CH artefact
- It shows a very good compromise between acetic acid adsorption efficiency and total cost
- It includes sensors to detect AA and NO gases based on a multiarray of two nanomaterial-based MOS with signal post-processing which are connected to a wireless communication system to make predictions
- The whole process has been validated in real conditions
- Besides ensuring better conservation, the reduction of electricity consumption achievable through the use of the NEMOSINE solution results in a significant saving in terms of CO2eq emissions
We have developed the following activities:
- We caried out the definition of requirements of each audiovisual CH artefact.
- We developed and integrated MOF for Acetic Acid Absorption. Different technical approaches have been followed, and different MOFs’ versions have been developed till obtain the optimized ones. The final prototype shows a very good compromise between acetic acid adsorption efficiency and total cost. Finally, pilot-scale of continuous flow of MOF synthesis has been successfully demonstrated on the ~300g/day scale. Different routes have been followed to integrate MOFs; the best performance was showed by the MOFs integrated in the cellulose membrane. During the experimental it was observed that the combination of two fibres enabled to form mechanically stable composites containing up to 75%wt of MOFs. The MOF integrated in the cellulose can capture approximately 250mg of AA per gram of composite.
- We developed sensors to detect AA and NO gases. The best solution to quantify acetic acid produced during the degradation of acetic acid films, considering performance, space requirements, and power consumption, appeared to be the one based on a multiarray of two nanomaterial-based MOS with signal post-processing. On the other hand, to monitor nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide produced by the degradation of cellulose nitrate, the best solution was reached by employing two electrochemical sensors, one selective for nitrogen oxide, the other selective for nitrogen dioxide.
- The PCB, wireless communication system, prediction model and software tool were developed: the architecture of software intended for driving the CH monitoring system, processing the data by means of predictive models and delivering the results though the user interface and towards the museum curators considering the different hardware drivers and the raw data acquisition layers needed. Finally, validation trials were performed to assess the Wireless Sensor Network hardware systems alongside the control platform in real archive environments.
- Then, the development and final manufacturing and validation of the NEMOSINE concept was carried out. The whole process starting from the product design, molds production and injection molding has been successfully completed. The equipment is available for serial industrial production, and the film box and electronic box have been injected. Once the NEMOSINE box was finished, all the functionalities have been integrated and have been validated in the three Film Archives in real conditions. Field test carried out at the film archives shows a high reduction of AA concentration once MOFs have been integrated inside the NEMOSINE film box, about a 50% and in some cases diminishing up to six times the gas presence in the box.
- An in-depth analysis was carried out of the proposed solution for the conservation of the cultural heritage with respect to the state-of-the-art, taking into account the entire life cycle of the product, from realisation to use and end-of-life. In collaboration with the partners who developed the NEMOSINE box, all the data relating to materials and processes were collected in order to determine the impact associated with the creation of the new product, while a careful assessment of the state-of-the-art was conducted, based on literature. The LCA shows, besides ensuring better conservation, the reduction of electricity consumption achievable through the use of the NEMOSINE solution results in a significant saving in terms of CO2eq emissions, with a reduction of about 60% considering the present energy mix and about 40% considering the estimated energy mix in 2030. The careful assessment of the risks associated with each material and process made it possible to ensure that the project activities were carried out without risks to the environment, human health and the safety of workers.

The NEMOSINE consortium has carried out several dissemination actions, among which: the constant updating and animation of the website and social networks, the issuance and distribution of six NEMOSINE newsletters, the preparation of three videos, the holding of two workshops and the collaboration with ongoing H2020 sister projects; moreover, the elaboration of the KERs has been completely defined, and the exploitation plan has been designed. At the end of the project, 100% of the activities foreseen in the DoA were achieved, despite the difficulties encountered due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Beyond the state of the art, NEMOSINE aimed:
- to develop a new line of AA adsorbers based on MOFs technology that would go beyond the state of the art limitation outlined above would be available to the conservation experts.
- to explore other alternatives such as the synthesis of MOFs directly inside the macroporous structure of the foam polymer, or to convert the MOF in a first step to macroscopic particles and then add the particles into a foam reacting formulation
- to develop new active package by encapsulating odour-free antifungals peptides and other antifungals to be integrated in high surface area devices to maximize the action
- to develop new research lines based on photocurrent-based sensors
- to develop multi-scale models to correlate sensors’ signals integrated in the package with degradation level of any type of cellulose derivatives CH artefacts

Expected impacts:
- Practical & affordable solutions in terms of cost and/or complexity of operation by those who will use them
- Increased quantified efficiency of materials/technique development for CH conservation, also beyond the specific cases selected by the proposers
- Improved modelling based decision making regarding conservation interventions
- Clear prospect for quantified socioeconomic gains from the proposed solutions