@article{
author = "Khaliliyan, Hajar and Lin, Justine and Jusner, Paul and Schiehser, Sonja and Bacher, Markus and Kostić, Mirjana and Rosenau, Thomas and Potthast, Antje and Böhmdorfer, Stefan",
year = "2024",
abstract = "Hemicellulose and pectin are noteworthy components of historical European rag papers, and have not been studied in detail so far. Rag papers were made from used textiles, and fiber-based utilities, such as ropes and bags. These had been prepared until the mid-19th century from plant-based fibers. Their polysaccharide composition could relate to their condition and history. This information can be expected to hold importance for the preservation and conservation of historical objects. We investigated a collection of rag papers of different age for their composition of non-cellulosic polysaccharides, and compared the findings with modern rag papers and wood pulps. Furthermore, a non-destructive determination of the hemicellulose and pectin content by near-infrared spectroscopy was developed. Historical rag papers had a lower hemicellulose/pectin content than pulps; the fractions of rhamnose, galactose, and arabinose were higher, while xylose was lower. In modern rag papers, xylose tended to be at the higher end of the range, which suggests a degradation of hemicelluloses/pectin over time or a change in raw materials and manufacturing. Rag papers also showed higher crystallinity than wood pulp papers. These findings provide insights into rag paper characteristics and offer potential classification methods.",
publisher = "Elsevier Ltd.",
journal = "Carbohydrate Polymers",
title = "Profiling of historical rag papers by their non-cellulosic polysaccharide composition",
pages = "121611",
volume = "326",
doi = "10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121611"
}
