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This work was supported by the research group "Ciencia y Cultura del Patrimonio"(HUM-1057) and the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad in the framework of the I + D research project "Nuevas alternativas al conocimiento de los materiales y los procesos de conservacion y restauracion de obra grafica y patrimonio documental"(REF.MAT2014-58659-P). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA., This study offers a new tool to restorers to bleach paper documents: artificial light radiation (ALR). It is a controlled method that is an alternative to other highly aggressive procedures that have been applied to cellulose based media. Its main novelty is its intrinsic lighting characteristics which guarantee uniformity and avoid heating the paper. The results of testing this new tool were compared to those of bleaching with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Each of the two methods was applied to five different types of widely used paper: Arches and Somerset (brands serving for engraving and digital printing), Ingres (drawing), press-type (magazines and newspapers) and Bible-type (historical documents). Once characterised by physico-mechanical, chemical and optical parameters (grammage, thickness, specular gloss, optical properties, air permeance, tensile properties, determining the pH of both surface and aqueous extracts), the different papers were bleached by the two methods according to pre-established criteria. Finally, to determine the evolution and effects of the two treatments, the papers were subjected to accelerated ageing., Research group "Ciencia y Cultura del Patrimonio" HUM-1057, Spanish Government MAT2014-58659-P, Universidad de Granada/CBUA

A new biotechnological procedure using laccase in combination with a hydrophobic phenolic compound (lauryl gallate) for the hydrophobization of cellulose fibres and internal sizing of paper was developed. Cellulose fibres from hardwood kraft pulp were incubated with laccase (Lac), in combination with lauryl gallate (LG). The Lac-LG treatment resulted in the internal sizing of paper, and also in significantly reduced water penetration in the handsheets and wettability of the paper surface. Paper was found not to be effectively rendered hydrophobic by LG alone. SEM images of the fibre network revealed the presence of the sizing agent a product of the reaction between laccase and lauryl gallate. Binding of lauryl gallate to cellulose fibres was suggested by the increase in kappa number of the pulp and further confirmed by IR spectroscopy. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.