No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The increasing demand for applying modified inert atmosphere systems for insect eradication in museums has led to the desire for lower-cost consumable materials, particularly laminated plastic films. An ultra-low oxygen-permeable laminate is required for creating successful systems of modified inert atmosphere to keep the oxygen concentration lower than 0.3%. A range of ultra-high barrier laminates is commercially available but at a high cost, which could affect the sustainability of applying these systems in museums of limited budgets. The wide use of local laminates for food preservation makes them a perfect target for testing and improvement as alternatives. However, a laboratorial test method for evaluating their oxygen permeability is required to assess their suitability for insect eradication using modified atmospheres. Therefore, the present work investigates the potential of using two laminates (one local and one imported) to create a successful modified atmosphere system. A laboratory easy-to-use test method was used to assess the oxygen permeability of each laminate and calculate its oxygen transmission rate. The test method is a sealed static chamber separated in the middle by a known area of the laminate to be tested. The test relies on monitoring the change of oxygen concentration overtime on either side of the laminate membrane within the sealed system to assess its oxygen transmission rate. The specifications and design of the test chamber are adopted from the ASTM Designation: E2945 − 14. Results indicated that the new method is useful for an unlimited number of tests of an unlimited number of laminates. The conducted tests proved that the local laminate normally used for food packaging showed good results in terms of its oxygen transmission rate.

The increasing demand for applying modified inert atmosphere (MIA) systems for insect eradication in museums has led to the desire for lower-cost consumable materials, particularly laminated plastic films. An ultra-low oxygen-permeable laminate is required for creating successful MIA systems to keep the oxygen concentration lower than 0.3%, which is commercially available but at a high cost. The wide use of local laminated films for food preservation makes them a perfect target for testing and improvement for MIA applications. However, the lack of laboratory oxygen permeability test methods to gauge the potential of local laminates for inclusion in MIA applications distracts attention from looking at them as alternatives and encourages the expense on extremely expensive imported ones. Therefore, the present work investigates the potential of employing two laminates (one local and one imported) to create a successful leak-proof MIA system. A laboratory easy-to-use test method was developed to assess the oxygen-gas retention property of each laminate by measuring its oxygen permeability and consequently oxygen transmission rate (OTR). The test method is a sealed static diffusion chamber separated in the middle by a known area (cm2) of the test laminate to be tested. The test relies on measuring the concentration of oxygen in either sides of the laminate membrane within the sealed system and monitors the change over time to assess the OTR of the laminate. The specifications and design of the test chamber are adapted from the ASTM Designation: E2945 − 14, to meet the facilities of a typical artefact fumigation laboratory. The test is undertaken at standard MIA conditions (temperature of 25°C, relative humidity of 45%, and target oxygen concentration of 0.3). Results indicated that the new method is useful for an unlimited number of tests of an unlimited number of laminates. The conducted tests proved that the local laminate normally used for food packaging has superior advantages over the long-used imported ones.