Thursday, September 10, 2015
The Lunder Conservation Center presented a symposium in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s McEvoy Auditorium. Talks focused on the discussion of past case studies, current considerations, and future possibilities in the use of solid CO2 cleaning for collection care.
This full-day program provided an opportunity for conservators and collection care specialists to explore the technology, applications, and benefits of solid carbon dioxide snow cleaning for collection treatment and preservation.
Solid carbon dioxide cleaning (snow to pellet) has been tested and used in critical cleaning capacities, such as the removal of surface contamination during the production of silicon microchip wafers and precision optical lenses. Significant advances in CO2 technology and its employment have produced valuable results for the field of conservation, specifically for objects with sensitive surfaces.