Friday 31 January 2014

Silica gel is a solid material and is a wonderful moisture adsorbent used for storage purposes. Silica gel usually comes in 3 variants consisting of blue, white and orange. The reason of the increased popularity of the substance is its incomparable humidity adsorbing capability. It possesses the capacity to adsorb 40 percent humidity of its weight even when it is placed in an environment having 100 percent humidity. Among all the variants of silica gel white silica gel has the highest and the quickest adsorbing capacity. When the beads of silica gel are used in packets, those are termed as silica gel packets. It is very useful and helps in reducing the humidity and works by maintaining the product quality of the product. As it is an absolutely nontoxic substance, it is used by many food and storage industries. It is also a major constituent of pharmaceutical industry.

Apart from this, industries like leather and gas companies also look upon it for moisture elimination purposes. Moisture is the biggest enemy as it encourages the growth of mold and fungi. Being highly porous and nonflammable substance its use is encountered in the day to day work. The best thing about silica gel is that it can be reused. When it indicates that it is fully used, heating it to a certain temperature brings it back to its original state and thus can be reused. Also the Silica gel packet is available in various sizes which make it flexible in use.

It is also frequently use in vacuum packing, textile industry, API packing and diagnostic kits. You can find many companies for Silica gel in India. The companies produce it in bulk and the products can be ordered online too. Gradually, silica gel has become the benchmark for durability and usefulness and hence the demand for silica gel packets has increased tremendously. It proved to be of great use starting from all the household items to the industrial leather products. One thing that has to be kept in mind while selecting the company for silica gel packets is that a proper check should be performed that the substance has FDA Standards or not.

Friday 24 January 2014

We always wonder about the usefulness of silica gel packets that come along with the packaging of the things that we buy. These little packaging of these gels are very helpful and is responsible for the successful packaging of the commodities. With the advancement of the technology in the development of silica gel, self-indicating silica gels are now becoming increasingly popular. They are basically of two types, silica gel blue and silica gel orange. These gels are mainly responsible for the absorption of moisture and are kept in small packets. These are granular substances that are made from a chemical substance called silicon silicate. These are made basically by synthetic processes. The end result is translucent, hard granules.
http://www.sorbeadindia.com/silica-gel.html
These are basically silica gel that is amorphous and is made into irregular granules that look like beads. These silica gel beads have micro-porous structure that has interlocking cavity that results in high surface area. These self-indicating gels are basically the same as normal indicators but with only the exception that in these gels, chemical or organic components are added that are sensitive to moisture. These chemicals react differently to the different levels of moisture. Their reaction is shown by their color change.  Low vapor density is responsible for the fact that water is able to stay on the surface of the beads. The process of adsorption by these beads gets stopped when the state of equilibrium is attained. This state is basically attained when the vapor pressure of the surface and the surroundings gets equal.

These are used in the industries where excess moisture can cause damage to the goods. The most basic use is for the drying and cleaning of the air and gases. These beads find great use in any kind of a dehumidification process. Silica beads are also used in the drying of analytical sample as they don’t participate in any type of a chemical reaction. They are also used to protect the sensitive optical instruments and lenses from damage caused due to humidity.

Thursday 23 January 2014

The small packet of silica gel white that comes in almost every packaging nowadays has many advantages. They are mainly responsible for the absorption of moisture and are kept in small packets. These are granular substances that are made from a chemical substance called silicon silicate. These are made basically by synthetic processes. The end result is translucent, hard granules.
These are basically silica gel that is amorphous and is made into irregular granules that look like beads. These beads have micro-porous structure that has interlocking cavity that results in high surface area. Low vapor density is responsible for the fact that water is able to stay on the surface of the beads. The process of adsorption by these beads gets stopped when the state of equilibrium is attained. This state is basically attained when the vapor pressure of the surface and the surroundings gets equal. The process of removal of humidity from the surroundings by the desiccants is known as desiccant dehumidification.
These are used in the industries where excess moisture can cause damage to the goods. The most basic use is for the drying and cleaning of the air and gases. These beads find great use in any kind of a dehumidification process. Silica Gel Beads are also used in the drying of analytical sample as they don’t participate in any type of a chemical reaction. They are also used to protect the sensitive optical instruments and lenses from damage caused due to humidity. The best thing about these beads is that even though they are slightly acidic in nature, then also they are not toxic and can be used even in the packaging of food. These crystals are also used in the drying of flowers. When kept in a closed container with the flowers, they dry up the flower in 2 to 6 days and effectively preserve its beauty.

Monday 6 January 2014

Silica gel desiccants are largely used in the Consumer products like Food, Leather, and Packaging to protect goods from Moisture Depreciation. Silica gel is one of the most widely used desiccant due to its exclusive property of Moisture adsorption, various sizes, shapes and saturation indicating properties that can cater to any application. They are packed in form of small bags, tiny cylinders or tablets which help the user fit it in any type of packaging making it more users friendly. These desiccants can be regenerated by applying heat for a specific time period which lets it retain its original properties making it re-usable.

Silica Gel Beads are spherical forms of silicon dioxide which are derived artificially from Sodium Silicate. Beads are in colored and transparent forms. They are available in various sizes ranging from 1 mm to 8mm. They adsorb relatively up to 40% moisture of their weight which makes it amongst the most favorable moisture adsorbing inert material that can be in free forms or enclosed in some packaged forms. Silica beads are used in air breathers.  
Blue Orange and White Silica Gel

Specifications of Usage

For one liter volume container, half gram of silica gel is required to keep it safe. Change in relative humidity can also affect the absorption capacity. If the relative humidity is 20%, then the gel can absorb 10% of its weight. If the relative humidity is 50% or 90%, then the gel can absorb about 23% or 36% of its weight respectively.

When it comes to using an easy desiccant which is weightless and can be reused, then silica gel is the right choice. It can be used in many industries. It is also available in different packing sizes, enabling it to be used in various packages. Some companies prefer colored gel to indicate the presence of humidity and some prefer silica gel white.

Thursday 2 January 2014

Previous our post said advantages of silica gel make it a very good choice for protecting different products of daily use.
  1. Storage containers, tool boxes, cargo on boats and RVs as well as in safes and containers.
  2. Military instruments and firearms
  3. Photos, batteries, films, photographic equipments and optical devices
  4. Electronic, computer, circuit boards and other instruments.
  5. Collectibles like stamps, coins and leather products.
  6. Pharmaceutical products, vitamins and medical equipments
  7. Foods, pet stuff and seeds.
  8. Jewels, textile, documents and other fragile products.
Overall, any product that could get damaged due to high humidity can use silica gel with the package.