[Nhcoll-l] Skeleton preservation

[Bethany Palumbo]

Hi Sergio,

I understand your plight, smelly bones are something we all have to deal
with at some point in this field!

Personally I don't recommend soaking skeletal material in ammonia as
ammonia will break down the collagen, potentially resulting in
brittleness and delamination. I have seen this first hand. I have had
success using a weak ammonia solution (4-10%) in water, scrubbed onto the
oily surface with a tooth brush. This creates a soap scum that can be wiped
off with paper towels. Other safe solvents that might offer some odor
relief include ethanol or acetone wiped over the surface. Also
investigate hot vapour degreasing which is used in some museums to remove
old and fresh fatty secretions from bones. Correct me if I am wrong, but I
think Berlin have one they use for big mammals.

All the best,

Bethany Palumbo,
Head of Conservation Unit,
Museum of Natural History Denmark



On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 at 13:07, Sergio Montagud <sergio.montagud at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Good morning,
>
> This is a query for those working in skeleton preservation. We have some
> recently acquired, disarticulated specimens prepared by different
> taxidermists. The issue is that some of them, especially the larger ones,
> still emit a very unpleasant odor that we haven’t been able to remove, even
> by soaking them in water with ammonia. Is there an effective and proven
> method for eliminating this bad smell from the bones, which I assume is
> caused by residual fat still trapped in them?
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> Sergio Montagud
>
> --
>
> ********************************
>
> Sergio Montagud Alario
>
> Museu [UV] Història Natural
>
> Universitat de València
>
> e-mail: sergio.montagud at uv.es
>
> ********************************
>
>
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