Electrolytic Reduction
With the harsh nature of maritime sites artifacts such as timbers, cloth, and organic materials can quickly deteriorate, leaving more durable artifacts such as metals, ceramics, and glass. Though metals may be less prone to deterioration under certainty circumstances, they are by no mean free from corrosion. Metal artifacts recovered from marine and submerged sites are very unstable due to the corrosive nature of the minerals dissolved in water. Metal artifacts recovered from marine sites must be treated in order to stop artifacts from deteriorating beyond repair. Removal of the artifacts from the water may actually do more harm than good and quicken the deterioration of the artifacts. When metals are recovered from the sea they are commonly encrusted in a conglomerate of different materials (Rodgers, 2004). Common encrustation of metals can consist of calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide, metal corrosion, clay, sand, and marine life (Hamilton, 2010).These problems may often be solved with a conservation method known as electrolytic reduction or electrolysis. Electrolytic reduction is the process of submerging metal in a chemical solution, then running electrical current through the solution and metal artifact, resulting in the movement of ions from the artifact to the cathodes creating a low amp current (Kipfer, 2000). Electrolytic reduction is one of the most effective methods to conserve metals (Hamilton, 2010). Besides being an effective method, electrolysis is also very cost effective and relatively easy to produce. Continue reading
