Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Experimental evaluation of a method for the removal of polyethylene glycol (PEG) from conserved wood

Fauvelle, Mikael LU orcid ; Rundgren, Mats LU ; Hansson, Anton LU ; Bernfur, Katja LU ; Klintvik Ahlberg, Git LU ; Linderson, Hans LU and Foley, Brendan LU orcid (2025) In npj Heritage Science 13.
Abstract
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used in the conservation of wooden artifacts, but its presence adversely affects the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. It is therefore critical to have robust methods for the removal of PEG from heritage materials. This paper presents the results of an experiment designed to test a protocol for the removal of low molecular-weight PEG-400 from conserved wood. We conducted a known-age test using PEG-400 impregnated materials from the excavation of the medieval royal shipwreck, Gribshunden, built in 1484 CE and sunk in 1495 CE. We test our results by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) to show that no PEG is detectable in our samples after a three-step pretreatment... (More)
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used in the conservation of wooden artifacts, but its presence adversely affects the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. It is therefore critical to have robust methods for the removal of PEG from heritage materials. This paper presents the results of an experiment designed to test a protocol for the removal of low molecular-weight PEG-400 from conserved wood. We conducted a known-age test using PEG-400 impregnated materials from the excavation of the medieval royal shipwreck, Gribshunden, built in 1484 CE and sunk in 1495 CE. We test our results by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) to show that no PEG is detectable in our samples after a three-step pretreatment protocol. Furthermore, radiocarbon dates of our pretreated samples returned dates that match the known age of the wood. Our results indicate that our pretreatment protocol can be used to successfully remove PEG-400 from conserved wood, allowing for accurate 14C dating. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
npj Heritage Science
volume
13
article number
583
pages
10 pages
publisher
Springer Nature
external identifiers
  • scopus:105022207100
ISSN
3059-3220
DOI
10.1038/s40494-025-02166-z
project
Floating Castles: the Built Environment and Social Signaling in Medieval Scandinavia
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6a5bbb13-9c5e-421e-b108-da719cde401e
date added to LUP
2025-11-18 16:27:05
date last changed
2025-12-05 03:38:13
@article{6a5bbb13-9c5e-421e-b108-da719cde401e,
  abstract     = {{Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used in the conservation of wooden artifacts, but its presence adversely affects the accuracy of radiocarbon dating. It is therefore critical to have robust methods for the removal of PEG from heritage materials. This paper presents the results of an experiment designed to test a protocol for the removal of low molecular-weight PEG-400 from conserved wood. We conducted a known-age test using PEG-400 impregnated materials from the excavation of the medieval royal shipwreck, Gribshunden, built in 1484 CE and sunk in 1495 CE. We test our results by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) to show that no PEG is detectable in our samples after a three-step pretreatment protocol. Furthermore, radiocarbon dates of our pretreated samples returned dates that match the known age of the wood. Our results indicate that our pretreatment protocol can be used to successfully remove PEG-400 from conserved wood, allowing for accurate 14C dating.}},
  author       = {{Fauvelle, Mikael and Rundgren, Mats and Hansson, Anton and Bernfur, Katja and Klintvik Ahlberg, Git and Linderson, Hans and Foley, Brendan}},
  issn         = {{3059-3220}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Springer Nature}},
  series       = {{npj Heritage Science}},
  title        = {{Experimental evaluation of a method for the removal of polyethylene glycol (PEG) from conserved wood}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/233352828/Fauvelle_et_al_2025_-_PEG_Heritage_Science.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s40494-025-02166-z}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}