Saturday 11 February 2017

Five Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel as Dehumidifier Desiccants

Why Dehumidification is Important?


Dehumidification is the process of removing moisture from the surroundings. The presence of moisture can be harmful for products, especially pharma and food items, as they get spoilt after coming in contact with water vapour. Dehumidification is crucial for the storage and transportation industry as packed goods need to be sent to far away places and thus need to be free from moisture during that given period of time. If the packed goods come in contact with moisture then they will be spoilt and lead to heavy financial losses for the companies. Another benefit of dehumidification is that it helps to increase the shelf life of the product.

Dehumidification is generally carried out with the help of dehumidifying desiccants like Silica Gel, Molecular Sieves and Activated Alumina. Of these Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel is the most preferred as it is easily available and is highly cost-effective. Silica Gel dehumidifiers absorb moisture to reach a stable position and are very capable in removing moisture through direct absorption. Another reason why Silica Gel beads are so preferred is because the moisture absorbing Silica Gel is porous in structure and even when the water has been absorbed, the entire structure of the Silica Gel remains intact. As there is no change to the shape of the Silica Gel, it is economically viable as well as the Silica Gel molecules can be used over and over again.


Five Commonly Used Moisture-Absorbing Silica Gels


Now that we have come to know why Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel is the most preferred among all the dehumidifying agents, let us take a look at five of the commonly used Moisture Absorbing Silica Gels

1) Silica Gel White:
Think Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel, think Silica Gel white. Silica Gel White beads are the first choice when we want to use Silica Gel as a dehumidifying desiccant. Silica Gel White are the Non-Indicating Type of Silica Gel, which do not change colour when they have absorbed moisture. When they start taking in moisture, the white gels may turn hazy or milky white. As Silica Gel White can take in nearly 40% of its weight, it can absorb more moisture molecules when compared to other moisture absorbing Silica Gels.

2) Silica Gel Blue:
Another commonly used Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel is the Silica Gel Blue. While at the beginning of the dehumidification process, they will be blue in colour and as soon as the dehumidification process starts, it will start absorbing moisture and turn pink in colour. This will go on till all the moisture molecules have been absorbed.

3) Silica Gel Green:
Silica Gel Green is also widely used as a desiccant dehumidifier. The green color usually occurs when the originally orange color changes into green after the saturation process takes place. This form of Silica Gel is available in granular and beaded form.

4) Silica Gel Orange:
When one uses Silica Gel Orange, then as the moisture intake happens the colour will change from the initial orange to either pink/green/orange. This type of Moisture Absorbing Silica Gel works best as a dehumidifier desiccant.

5) Silica Gel Pink:
With this type of desiccant, the colour changes from pink to white when the saturation process is finished and no more moisture molecules can be absorbed.

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