|
|
I often go to beaches to look for driftage. I am particularly interested in ancient pottery that is found on the shore.
However, in most cases, there are some barnacles and seashells attached to pottery, and it is very difficult to remove them. I can use a pallet to remove them, but I am afraid that I may scratch the pottery.
I have tried the following two methods to remove the organisms from pottery: the first method is to immerse the pottery into dilute hydrochloric acid and then wash them with water. However, it is not easy to purchase dilute hydrochloric acid, and I am worried that it may harm the pottery.
The other method is to let the pottery stay outside to weather the organisms. This method is safe but takes a long time.
Could you please teach me how to remove attached organisms from old pottery safely and thoroughly?
Turner (Dec 2004)
|
|
|
| |
Answer:
An anonymous professor, who is studying attached organisms, kindly answered the question above.
Since pottery is made by burning clay in the oven, I don’t think that dilute hydrochloric acid will do any harm to the pottery.
As you may know, hydrochloric acid is contained in a glass bottle.
Glass is an amorphous silicate (silica), and the major component of
clay is also silica. In addition, the glazing agent for the pottery is
glass as well. Therefore, if the immersion time is relatively short, I
don’t think that it is a bad idea to use dilute hydrochloric acid to
clean pottery.
|
Furthermore, since seashells and barnacle shells are carbonate, they can be dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid. If you examine the concentration of dilute hydrochloric acid and duration of the immersion, I think that you will be able to clean the pottery effectively.
Although I don’t know how difficult it is to purchase dilute hydrochloric acid, dilute hydrochloric acid is not hazardous if you handle it properly.
|
|
Acorn barnacles
Courtesy of
Calvin Jones
|
There may be other ways to remove attached organisms from pottery, but the answer above is the only one I can think of now.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank an anonymous professor for his kind answer.
This article is translated by Chemistryquestion.com from the original article in Chemistryquestion.jp. Please let us know if you find any errors.
|
|
