A Study of Traditional Chinese Wheat Starch Paste and Paste-coated Paper

Abstract

Wheat-based adhesives have been used for paper conservation and restoration for thousands of years. This study provides scientific justification for the use of gluten-free wheat starch-based paste, versus unmodified wheat flour paste, as is still in use in the care of painting and works of calligraphy on paper in China. Wheat starch was obtained by hand washing wheat flour to remove gluten and other impurities, similar to the method used by traditional Chinese paper restorers. The wheat starch and wheat flour pastes were prepared by cooking starch/flour according to a traditional Chinese recipe adapted for laboratory use. Subsequently, paste-coated papers with different amounts of each paste were prepared using a traditional brushing method. The physicochemical properties of the granules and paste-coated papers were investigated using multiple techniques, including colorimetry, viscoamylography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mechanical property testing, reversibility analysis, and fungal growth testing. The results show that the viscosity of wheat starch paste in our study is higher than that of wheat flour paste. Both the wheat flour and the as-prepared starch pastes form a thin layer on the paper surface, which greatly improves the tensile strength and folding endurance of the paper. However, the paste to water ratio must be below 1:10 to maintain paper softness. At the same time, wheat flour paste noticeably affects the paper color. While reversibility differences are negligible, fungal growth tests suggest that the wheat starch paste better resists microbial growth.

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