Chemical–Thermal Quantitative Methodology for Carbon Speciation in Damage Layers on Building Surfaces

The issue of environment protection, including the conservation of the monumental heritage worldwide, is related to atmospheric pollution, and its future therefore depends on air pollutant reduction. Carbonaceous particles emitted by combustion processes are the main factors responsible for the blackening of buildings. The identification and evaluation of the carbon species constituting the non carbonate fraction of total carbon in damage layers, particularly in urban areas, are required in order to investigate atmospheric deposition on building surfaces. Since non carbonate carbon contains organic and elemental carbon originating from various human activities, its measurement and speciation are crucial to the protection and conservation of monuments and ancient masonry, playing an important role both in the proposal of mitigation strategies and in the definition of conservation treatments. The availability of a correct, accurate and reproducible analytical method for a complete carbon balance is essential in studying the effects of atmospheric pollutants on the environment, including those affecting cultural heritage. A chemical-thermal methodology was set up, and its sensitivity, accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility were tested on appropriate standard samples of composition similar to the black crusts on stones and mortars. The results indicate that the technique satisfactorily distinguishes among carbon species, particularly those of anthropogenic origin, allowing a reliable evaluation of their quantities in damage layers. In view of the difficulties encountered in applying the thermo-optical methods adopted for the measurement of carbon filters, the proposed methodology contributes to filling the current gap in suitable and reliable analytical procedures in the field of cultural heritage protection.