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Have you ever smelled a old book, it smells good, but why do the old books smell so good? What causes the smell?
Let's know,
Smell of old books is basically because of paper and ink in those books. Primarily, paper is made up of wood. Wood is made up of organic compounds like cellulose and lignin. Over the years, these compounds react with heat, light and moisture, and begin to breakdown releasing VOCs.
VOCs means volatile organic compounds. This compounds get vaporized easily and mix with the air, forming the smell of old books.
There are different types of VOCs. A volatile organic compound named vanillin gives vanilla like smell. Another VOC benzaldehyde gives almond like smell and ethyl benzene gives a sweet smell.
In short, combination of various compounds make the old books smell so good.
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