What is the difference between silica gel and desiccant?

Silica gel is a granular, vitreous, porous form of silicon dioxide made synthetically from sodium silicate. Used as a desiccant, it works by a process called adsorption. The water in the air actually absorbs between the tiny passages as the air passes through them.

Is desiccant the same as silica gel?

Silica gel is a desiccant that can hold 30 to 40% of its weight in water. Water molecules stick to its surface, which is called adsorption. The similar-sounding phenomenon of absorption, involves the material being chemically incorporated into the material itself.

What is the best type of desiccant?

Molecular sieve is the best desiccant based on technical performance characteristics. Its ability to adsorb moisture, in this case water vapor, is so pronounced that it can remove trapped H20 molecules from a fully saturated silica gel bead, which in turn changes the silica gel back to its original Cobalt blue color.

Is silica the same as silica gel?

Silica gel is a form of silica that's processed into various forms like granules or beads. Silica gel works like a sponge, drawing moisture into its many pores. It has the power to absorb up to 40% of its weight in water.

Which type of silica gel is best?

Blue indicating silica gel contains cobalt chloride and has been banned by the EU. On the other hand, orange silica gel is non-toxic and is widely used in the EU. It works best at room temperature and has a variety of applications where visual control of moisture is necessary.

Silica Gel Desiccant and Bentonite Clay Desiccant - Discover the Difference

Should desiccant be pink or blue?

Bulk Desiccant (#19960 & #19961)

As the gel begins to absorb water, the color changes to light blue and finally pink, when it has absorbed about 8% of its weight in moisture. However, this is still well below its maximum absorption capability of 35–40%, which means it can still absorb more moisture.

Why is silica gel pink?

When silica gel absorbs moisture, its beads color change from blue to purple to pink, this indicates that the gel needs to be replaced or regenerated. The reason behind is cobalt chloride.

What can I use instead of silica gel?

Anhydrous sulfates like calcium, magnesium and sodium are common alternative desiccants to silica gel because of their high affinity with water.

What happens if you mix silica gel with water?

Some types of silica gel will "pop" when exposed to enough water. This is caused by breakage of the silica spheres when contacting the water.

Why you should never throw away silica packets?

Silicon dioxide dries out anything around them. Non-toxic, not poisonous, they do pose a choking hazard. Keep them away from children.

How do you make homemade desiccant?

Just put a teaspoon or two of silica gel in a clean fabric bag, and tie up the opening as tight as possible so no gel escapes. Now place your desiccant anywhere you want to absorb moisture! And the best part is, desiccants are 100% reusable!

How do I choose the right desiccant?

Know the environment: In order to select an appropriate desiccant, it is important to know the conditions surrounding the shipment and storage of the product; the extremes of temperature and relative humidity to which the product will be exposed and the average duration of such exposures.

How long is desiccant good for?

We recommend that a desiccant be replaced once every three years for open-cycle systems and once every two years for closed-cycle systems. A desiccant may degrade more quickly depending on the environment where it is used. Dew point temperatures offer a good indication for when to replace your desiccant.

Why silica gel is used as desiccant?

How silica gel desiccants remove moisture from the air. Silica gel and calcium chloride have different ways to remove moisture from the surrounding environment. Silica gel does it by adsorption, which means that the water molecules adhere to the surface of the silica gel.

How do you activate silica gel?

Oven drying at 120-130 degree temperature is the most convenient method to reactivate the silica gel which is indicated with blue colour (anhydrous state) from the pink colur (hydrous state).. The moisture of silica gel can be removed by putting the silica gel in hot air oven at 80-100 degree Celcius for 1 hr.

Does silica gel dissolve in water?

However, silica gel is unique in the fact that it is not a gel, nor will it dissolve in most liquids. In fact, it actually absorbs water and other liquids instead of dissolving in them.

Is Rice a good desiccant?

Before it is cooked, dried rice has the capacity to absorb a good deal of moisture, making it useful as a food-safe desiccant.

How do you refresh silica gel?

Silica Gel can be restored to its original state by heating it in an oven to 120 °C (248 °F) for 1–2 hours. Once it is restored, it will return to its original color; either orange or blue depending on its type. Silica Gel gets saturated with moisture rather quickly when there is a high level of humidity in the air.

Is cornstarch a desiccant?

Although the scientific literature available on bio-desiccants is scarce, starch and starch derivatives are being used as desiccants in industry since a long time.

Can you use kitty litter as a desiccant?

Cat litter, also called kitty litter, can be used in many creative ways, such as traction on ice, a deodorizer for shoes and trashcans and the main ingredient in a mud musk. Cat litter can also be used as a dehumidifier because it absorbs water, keeping the area must-free in the process.

Is baking soda a good desiccant?

Carpet Treatment—Baking soda is a gentle desiccant, meaning it absorbs moisture from the environment, and since carpet tends to behave like the big sponge everyone walks across in your house, baking soda makes an ideal carpet treatment.

Can I reuse desiccant?

What most people don't realize, however, is that desiccant packs can be reused. The life of these bags depends on the environment that they are exposed to, but most desiccant bags last between 1 and 3 years.

How many types of silica gel are there?

Silica gels are classified into three types: regular, intermediate, and low density gels. Regular density silica gel is prepared in an acid medium and has a high surface area (e.g., 750 m² g⁻¹).

What happens if you microwave silica gel?

Silica gel will get very hot once it begins heating, and if it overheats, it will be useless. Do not store silica gel until it has cooled down thoroughly. Silica gel can be used to dry and store seeds.