Oxygen absorbers ATCO, AGELESS, RP and RP-K

Typical applications:

• 1. Desinfestation:
  An oxygen concentration of <0,1% kills all insects at any stage of development within several weeks (ap. 4 weeks at 25°C). The objects to be treated are hermetically sealed in oxygen barrier foil along with the proper amount of oxygen absorbers.
• 2. Conservation of metals:. Corrosion of metals is practically stopped, even in humid and salt infested conditons, as it is the case with fresh archaeological finds which must not be dried. The anoxic enviroment protects organic remains from micro-organisms. So conditions inside the bag are quite similar to conditions in the ground.
  With RP-A, fresh metal surfaces and electronic parts can be maintained free from corrosion for many years.
• 3. Conservation of products sensitive to oxygen (rubber, plastics, greases...)
  The best example is rubber, which by no other means can be stored effectively over long periods. Many plastics also profit from low-oxygen atmoshperes. Benefit to textiles, paper or film materials however is relatively small: in the case of these materials, other reaction mechanisms like hydrolysis are much more important than oxydation.

Calculation of quantity and application:

This oxygen absorber reduces the oxygen concentration in a sealed container to below 0,01% creating a very low-oxygen environment. Ageless sachets contain fine iron powder covered with sea salt and a natural zeolith impregnated with a NaCl-solution. One sachet of Ageless Z 2000 absorbs 2000 ml oxygen (the oxygen from 10 l air) and releases about 0,8 g of water during use. With no humidity buffer involved, Ageless creates a relative humidity of 75% RH within the container - ATCO FTM only max 68% RH. The rise in RH can be balanced by either 50 g pre-conditioned PRO SORB or one 4 g bag dry silica gel per sachet of Ageless Z 2000 (Elert 2003).
Since absorption of oxygen reduces the volume of the bag by one fifth, bags must always be prepared 20% larger!

Control:

Ageless-eye is a small oxygen indicator tablet turning pink below 0,1% oxygen and returning to blue above 0,5% oxygen. Ageless-eye can be stored 6 months in a refrigerator in a sachet containing an oxygen absorber. After more than one year of storage, the colour shift is not reliable any more.  More accurate measuring requires oxygen meters

Prices:

ATCO FTM 2000-S, ca. 120 x 80 x 15 mm
10 sachets	10,- €	one sachet is sufficient for 10 l air volume (only available in this size) order
20 sachets	14,- €
100 sachets	60,- €
200 sachets	115,- €
1000 sachets	500,- €
4000 sachets	1900,- €

Smaller bags are only available from Ageless (other sizes on request):

Ageless 100 ZPT, ap. 45 x 40 mm
100 sachets	16,- €	one sachet is sufficient for 0,5 l air volume order
400 sachets	60,- €
1000 sachets	130,- €
3000 sachets	360,- €

Ageless 300 ZPT ap. 60 x 60 mm
100 sachets	43,- €	one sachet is sufficient for 1,5 l air volume order
400 sachets	160,- €
1000 sachets	370,- €
3000 sachets	1060,- €

Indicator tablets: (can be kept in a refrigerator for about 6 month, so don’t buy too many at a time): ap. 30 x 52 mm
5 tablets	5,- €	packed by 5, 10 or 25 order
10 tablets	10,- €
25 tablets	20,- €
100 tablets	70,- €
1000 tablets	650,- €

Precautions:

Ageless and ATCO were developed for food industry. They are non-poisonous and can be discarded after use as normal waste. The heat of the reaction elevates the temperature within the sachets up to around 42°C, so sensitive art objects should not be in direct contact with the oxygen scavenger.

Oxygen scavenger RP-K: absorbs oxygen without influencing RH
	Oxygen scavenger RP-K is also active under dry conditions and is absorbing oxygen without influencing relative humidity. Furthermore it contains some active charcoal for the  adsorption of pollutants like SO2, HCl or NH3.  RP-K contsists of unsaturated organic compounds and some inorganic sorbents like graphite and Ca(OH)2 as well as polythene.
RP-3K, for 300 ml air volume, size: 35 x 120 mm, normally in stock 25 sachets: 31,- € 100 sachets: 116,- € 1000 sachets: 1070,- € 10 000 sachets: 10200,- € order RP-5K, for 500 ml air volume, size: 51 x 120 mm         only larger quantities, will take some month for delivery order

Oxygen scavenger RP-A: absorbs oxygen and dries (for metals, electronic components ...)

Oxygen scavenger RP-A is containing similar materials but also a very strong sorbent for humidity (zeolith), bringing down relative humidity within the container close to zero. One sachet of RP-5A absorbs around 1,1 g of water. RP-A fights against metal corrosion on three levels, reducing simultaneously oxygen, humidity and pollutants. However, for most metal objects in museums, dry storage with desiccants like silica gel or bags of molecular sieves will be sufficient to stop corrosion.