Potassium lactate

Description

A potassium salt of Lactic acid. Potassium lactate has been added to vegetable tanned leather as an acid buffer and as a scavenger for Sulfur dioxide. Its effectiveness is questionable. Some treatments have resulted in a white eflorescence on the surface of the leather that is thought to be due to lactic acid or lactate salts (Gottleib 1982). Applications of potassium lactate to suede or deteriorated leathers (Red rot) can cause blackening (Roberts and Etherington 1982).

Risks

• Echemi: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Composition	KC3H5O3 -H2O

Resources and Citations

• J.S. Gottleib, "A Note on Identifying Bloom on Leather Bindings" JAIC 22(1), 1982.

• M.Roberts, D.Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1982.

• Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986