Thermaline® is a vacuum freeze-drying process in which books are restrained from warping and distorting as water is removed. The process compresses books back into their natural shapes, minimizing cover board warpage.

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This exclusive process patented by Document Reprocessors, Thermaline is very reliable and allows most books to be returned directly to shelves with no additional restoration required.

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During the Thermaline process, materials are loaded into a vacuum chamber which, by reducing the pressure along with the use of controlled heat, vaporizes the water/ice. The resulting vapor is removed from the chamber by specially-designed vacuum pumps. The extracted and isolated vapor is then heated and converted to steam and exhausted into the atmosphere. Thus, the only emission is steam (212°F at sea level).

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Thermaline offers many benefits, including:

• Restrains books from warping and distorting as water is removed.

• Compresses books back into a more natural shape.

• Minimizes cover board warpage.

• Reduces the need to rebind books by up to 90%, because of a result of straightening during compression.

• Allows most books to be returned directly to shelves with no additional restoration required.

• State-of-the-art methods provide mechanical straightening as well as complete drying.

 

To learn more about Document Reprocessors’ exclusive Thermaline® vacuum freeze-drying and straightening process for water-damaged books, please take a tour of our operations through our comprehensive slideshow, or view the Document Reprocessors informational video and find out how we can assist you when disaster strikes.

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® Thermaline is a Registered Trademark of Document Reprocessors,  Patented in 1990.