A desiccant is a material that removes moisture from the air and is a hygroscopic substance that induces or sustains a state of dryness in its local vicinity in a moderately well-sealed container. This material for specialized purposes may be in forms other than solid which work through absorption or adsorption of water. It is most commonly used to remove excessive humidity that would normally degrade or even destroy certain products which are sensitive to moisture. It is induce dryness in any environment and reduce the amount of moisture present in air and it have found widespread usage in the food, pharmaceuticals, packing, electronics and many manufacturing industries which are looking for their respective products to keep it away from moisture, smell, humidity, mildew, mold, bacterial growth.
There are different types of desiccants materials for pharmaceutical and commercial use. One of them is silica gel, which is a vitreous, granular, porous form of silicon dioxide made synthetically from sodium silicate. This type of structure makes silica gel a high capacity of moisture absorber. There are wide ranges of adsorbents silica, like indicating type (blue and orange) and non-indicating type (white) which can be used in different industries based on their adsorbent requirements. It is pack in packets or bags with tyvek paper, non-woven bags and composite Paper material packing in various sizes as per customer requirements. These materials comply with USFDA standard which allow non-toxic handling, DMF free and storage of food materials. Silica gel blue, white and orange are use in drying and cleaning of air and gases, drying of analytical sample and solvent, optical instrument and device, drying and storage of flower and seeds. Silica gel pillow pak and unit pak are moisture absorbing packets are made from high density polyethylene fibers which are tear resistant and use to absorb moisture vapor, odor or gas. Pillow pak, unit pak and canisters are fill with clay, silica gel, molecular sieve and activated carbon which act as a moisture control. Bulk adsorbents like silica gel, activated alumina balls and molecular sieves are used in industries and processes which require the adsorption and removal of moisture elements during processing & packaging.
Silica gel packets are high porous amorphous silicon dioxide and it binds water molecules in its random intersecting channels which have various diameters. Silica gel packets are widely use in many industries like pharmaceutical, food products, leather, aerospace, computers, automobile parts, military equipment, rolled steel etc. Moisture absorbers tablets are use to MVTR testing for blister packaging and protect pharmaceutical tablets and capsules from moisture effects. Vials are made with silica gel and molecular sieve to protect filling products inside vial from moisture and close use to fill pharmaceutical tablets and capsules. One of the humidity controllers like humidity indicator cards allows a low cost method of indicating humidity conditions for various type of barrier packaging. Humidity indicating cards are printed with moisture sensitive spots which respond to various level of humidity with a visible color change from blue to pink.
