Activated Alumina: Is it the Best Air-Drying Desiccant?
It’s a common misconception that the purpose of industrial desiccants is limited to removing moisture in pharmaceutical and food packaging. However, that’s not true at all. Desiccants are used for a wide array of industrial applications.
Take, for instance, activated alumina. In addition to being used as a food preservative, it’s also used for drying of liquids, gases, and air, removing fluoride compounds from water that’s meant for domestic use, and for removing trace metals and acidic impurities from organic streams.
In addition to its excellent adsorption capability, the other qualities that make activated alumina such a popular industrial desiccant is its ability to remain stable in high temperatures and pressure fluctuations. But, is it the best air-drying desiccant? Well, let’s find out.
What is Activated Alumina?
Before we start comparing activated alumina to other air-drying desiccants, let’s first discuss what it actually is. Activated alumina is essentially a highly porous form of aluminum oxide. However, the thing that makes it interested and gives it its unique properties is how they the molecules of the material are connected with each other. When examined at a microscopic level, the material is comprised of minute porous spheres that are joined together in a way that creates “tunnels” inside the material. When air is passed through these tunnels, the moisture is adsorbed by the material
How it compares with Other Air-Drying Desiccants
When it comes to cleaning the air or purifying gases, a number of different materials are used as desiccants by companies, including silica gel and molecular sieves. While these materials offer superb adsorption capabilities and a slew of other unique advantages, activated alumina is widely considered to be the most effective air-drying desiccant. The material offers a wide array of unique qualities that are not present in other solutions. These include:
- Its chemically inert to most gases and vapors
- Its non-toxic and doesn’t disintegrate or swell up when immersed in water
- Its highly resistant to abrasions and shocks
- It will adsorb and hold a high amount of moisture without changing its physical or chemical properties
- It’s capable of being reactivated for virtually an unlimited number of times.
Being a premier manufacturer and supplier of industrial absorbents and desiccants, Sorbead India offers premium quality activated alumina, molecular sieves and oxygen absorber packets online. Get in touch with us to learn more about the products we offer.
- Food storage: Silica gel packets can eliminate moisture and prolong the shelf life of a variety of processed food items.
- Lens protection: Silica gel helps keep moisture away from camera lenses in damp places, and is particularly useful when used underwater.
- Dehydrating breather: Silica gel serves as a dehydrating breather to avoid moisture build-up in electric transformers, which helps maintain the quality of the oil.
In a nutshell…
There are numerous and wide-ranging applications and benefits of Silica gel in numerous industries, even including the automobile, biochemical, electronic, garments, and other industries.
Should you use it?
Whether you should use Silica gel packets in your products or not depends on the type of food items that you’re planning on making. Food products like cereals, cat food, medicines, vitamins, and any item that can be affected by moisture should be packed with the desiccant packets like silica gel pouches to keep them fresh and increase their shelf life.
If you want to buy high-quality Silica gel in bulk quantity for your business, contact Sorbead India today!
We’re one of the leading distributors of adsorbents and desiccants in the country that offer top-quality Silica gel products to our clients at reasonable prices.
If you want to buy online or get more details about our services, call us at +91-756-768-8877 or visit our website today!
