AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

The aim of the Greener Solvents Project, [https://www.siconserve.org/greener-solvents/] conceived by Sustainability in Conservation (SiC), is to create accessible resources for promoting and disseminating greener solvent research, and support conservators in their safe and appropriate implementation of greener solvent approaches. Whilst ‘green’ is a widely popular and often arbitrarily-used term, in accurate accordance with its origins in Green Chemistry, there is no such thing as a green solvent. Recognising the need for a clearer definition, our research and resources have aimed to highlight the comparative nature of solvent ‘greenness’, and the requirement to incorporate human health, environmental and professional considerations for solvent selections in conservation practice. Thus rooted in sustainability, with approaches based on hazard and life cycle assessment methods, we have worked to develop and disseminate a clearer definition and perspective of greener solvents in conservation, with a focus on application specificity, and correct, yet simplified procedures for solvent selection by conservators.

Since the project was launched in 2020 we have been actively creating such open access resources for the conservation field. Our handbook, titled "Greener Solvents in Conservation: An Introductory Guide," edited by G. R. Fife and published by Archetype Publications in 2021, is freely accessible on SiC's website. This provides valuable information on identifying the most harmful solvents, practical methods for identifying alternative solutions readily available in studios, and a step-by-step guide to implementing greener solvent practices immediately.

Privileged to be joined by an expert scientific review committee and receive sponsorship for the handbook publication, we have been continually honored by the inputs and support we have sought and received from institutional partners and individuals for their collaboration.

Acknowledging that solvent use in conservation must be changed to benefit the health and safety of the conservator and environment, a key further action point identified has been the need to survey the field to understand the current practices and solvent use within conservation. We are currently developing the survey with partners at the University of Delaware, with plans for its launch in early 2024.

We have also developed a solvent database in collaboration with the University of Delaware. This database offers conservators a comprehensive view of potential greener solvent alternatives based on the specific substrate and their environmental impact. The database includes twenty-four data inputs, categorized into four main sections: identification, solvent properties, health and safety information, and details on the solvent's application in conservation. Developing this database requires us to actively research greener solvent alternatives, which we are doing in partnership with industrial and academic research partners in the US and EU. Consistent with an aim from the beginning of the project - enable conservators to stop using their most harmful solvents - our current research focuses on substitute solvents for replacing toluene/xylene in varnish applications on paintings and coatings on metal using a variety of modeling tools.