Papers by Author: Jorge Sanjurjo-Sánchez

Abstract: Lime mortars can suffer alterations when subjected to gaseous pollutants. Particulate air pollutants can also be deposited and incorporated to the mortar surfaces. Thus, they can be used as pollution tracers allowing us to measure deposition rates of pollutants to compare pollution loads. To calculate deposition rates the absolute age of the studied mortars must be known. Luminescence dating allows estimating the age of lime mortars but involves some partially unsolved problems. Luminescence yields the age of an object from the ratio between paleodose or cumulative radiation dose in the minerals of that object and the annual dose rate of ionizing radiation. The development of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) in the last years and the application of statistical tools have resulted in the first dating of lime mortars. In this work mortars from old buildings and have been collected from two urban sites (A Coruña, Spain, and Braga, Portugal) to estimate their ages by luminescence. Thus, the mortars could be used as passive samplers to calculate deposition rates and relate these to different pollution loads. Results show partial successful estimates and some related problems in younger mortars are discussed.

Abstract: Lime mortars have been commonly used in historical buildings since ancient times. The progressive deterioration of these mortars by air pollution and other environmental causes hinders the assessment of the original composition. The weakening of the mortar structure is due to dissolution and formation of calcium sulphate layers because of the interaction with SOx gaseous pollutants. Also, pollution particles can be incorporated to the mortar because of dissolution by rainwater or runoff. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) studies allow us to distinguish allochthonous and autochthonous micro- and nanoparticles in order to identify original intact plasters. By comparing these intact to deteriorated mortars from both air polluted and non-polluted areas it is possible to indentify and preserve the original mortar composition as a key step to project future façade cleaning and restorations.