Konserwacja mokrego drewna metodą "freeze-drying" w Centralnym Muzeum Morskim w Gdańsku

The article describes conservation of wet wood by means of a freeze- drying method. The technique consists in the sublimation of ice in vacuum, i.e. conversion of ice into gas with the omission of conversion into water. Practically it means that objects are placed in 5—15 per cent water solution of PEG-400 for the period from two weeks to several months, depending on their condition and thickness. Then they are subjected to freezing at temp. —26°C at least for 48 hours. After freezing, wooden objects are transferred to a Danish made freeze-dryer where sublimation, occurs until a complete removal of ice from the objects. This method was used in the Central Marine Museum in Gdańsk to preserve a few hundred wooden objects from the wrecks of the Solen and W-21 and the results obtained were very satisfactory.