Tran Van Luu’s entire library was damaged by a typhoon last year. All his “books were flooded in mud and seawater and some of them [were] damaged by moths.”
Luu, a farmer in Vietnam, concocted a potion of native medicinal herbs to help restore the damaged books.
The process:
Boil the herbs then use that water to wash the books.
After washing. Embalm the books with medicinal herbs and let dry in sunlight.
The result:
Pages are cleaned and do not stick together.
Books are “sweet-smelling” and mold-free.
The potion Luu developed is also non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
“Luu’s method to preserve ancient book by medicinal herb won the second prize at a recent national contest on scientific and technological creativity.”
Talk about export potential.
Article on VietnamNet