An efficient active packaging solution is quintessential for extending a product's lifetime for every manufacturer and distributor. Desiccants are compounds that are used in facilitating low humidity environments. By reducing moisture-induced degradation, desiccants play a key role in enhancing product shelf-life without compromising safety and efficacy. Hence, it is vital to select the right desiccant. Desiccants are often used to develop, transport, maintain, or store various materials and products.

The cheapest or the most convenient option doesn't lead you to the most valuable solution. The poor quality and wrong quantity of desiccant can result in over or under-desiccation, which can impact your product's life span and efficacy. This could be detrimental to both the company and the end-users. Hence, investing the time in selecting the right quality and quantity of desiccants in the development and packaging of your product will not only increase the chances of the product's success in the market and ensure the product's efficacy for end-users.

 What do You Need to Know Before Selecting the Desiccant?

When deciding on the proper desiccant, you must examine various parameters, such as LOD (loss on drying), and MAC (Moisture Adsorption Capacity) at low relative humidity and high temperatures. The container in which the product will be packaged, shipped, stored, and packaging headspace is also vital in determining how much of a particular desiccant you need and in what packaging form.

 It would be best if you also considered the temperature and relative humidity to which the product will be exposed.

 Each issue is best dealt with by a specific type or combination of different desiccants. An effective desiccant will absorb the water vapor in the air, lowering the relative humidity to the point where water cannot condense, i.e., the dew point.

Use a desiccant tailored to your requirements.

At Sorbead India, we understand just how important choosing the right desiccant is!

For this reason, we offer a diverse array of desiccants that can be customized to fit a variety of design and manufacturing parameters. 

The key to ensuring product stability and integrity is the incorporation of a structural desiccant during the initial design and storage phase. By comparing the properties and capabilities of each desiccation product, you can identify the suitable desiccant for your needs and make a clear choice. Some of these desiccants are as follows.

Types of Desiccants

1)Silica Gel

Silica gel is a popular desiccant choice in the food and drug (pharmaceutical and nutraceutical) industry due to its inert, non-toxic, and highly stable properties. Silica gel is a partially dehydrated form of polymeric colloidal silicic acid. Silica gel has an amorphous micro-porous structure. Its interconnected pore opening sizes of roughly 3-60 angstroms form a vast surface area that attracts and retains water by adsorption and capillary condensation, allowing silica gel to adsorb up to 40% of its weight in water. Silica gel is the most suitable desiccant for products with stable storage temperatures and high relative humidity. It is seen that silica gel is highly efficient at a temperature below 25°C (77°F) at a relative humidity of 40% (Fig. 1 & 2). However, caution must be exercised; as the temperature rises, the desiccant will desorb water or lose a part of its adsorption capacity like clay (Fig. 3). 

Figure 1: Adsorption Rate (H?O) of Various Adsorbents

Figure 2: Equilibrium Capacity (H?O) of Various Adsorbents

2) Molecular Sieve

Molecular sieves (also known as Synthetic Zeolite or aluminosilicates) adsorb moisture more strongly and rapidly than silica gel or clay (Fig. 2), making them ideal for products requiring instant protection from moisture degradation. 

Molecular sieves have a distinctive feature in the uniformity of the pore size openings in their crystal lattice structure. Due to this uniformity, molecular sieves have a high adsorption capacity even at low relative humidity, making them an economical choice of desiccants. This uniform structure of the molecular sieve does not allow it to desorb moisture into the package as readily as silica gel or clay would as temperature increases (Fig. 3). This is particularly important for packaged products that can experience a wide range of environmental conditions. However, caution should be exercised when selecting the proper dosage for products with specific RH requirements.Choosing the right specific desiccant within the desiccant range is as important as selecting the right type of desiccant. Molecular sieves come in various styles, such as, type 3A, 4A, 5A, 13X, carbon molecular sieve, and molecular sieve powder. Similarly, there are different varieties of silica gels. Silica gel blue, silica gel white and silica gel orange. Each of these types has specific properties for specific uses per your products' requirements. 

Both desiccants, i.e., silica gel and molecular sieve, are used to protect drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), diagnostic kits, and medical devices from the harmful effects of hydrolytic degradation triggered by unbound water in packaging headspace.

Figure 3: Equilibrium H?O Capacity in reference with temperature

3) Montmorillonite Clay

Montmorillonite Clay is a naturally occurring, porous adsorbent that is mined and then dried for use as a desiccant. One of the biggest advantages of the clay is that the clay can be successfully regenerated for repeated use at very low temperatures without substantial deterioration or swelling. However, this also causes the clay to desorb moisture into the container as temperatures rise. Clay is an inexpensive and an effective desiccant within the normal temperature and relative humidity ranges (Table 1).

                                                                         Table 1: Properties of Adsorbents

 4) Calcium Oxide (CaO)

Calcium oxide (CaO) is a cost-effective desiccant that you should use if your product is stored or transported in areas with high temperatures. The substance, also known as quick lime, is distinguished by its ability to absorb much greater water at low relative humidity than other materials (Fig. 2). Calcium oxide is used mainly in packaging dehydrated foods where a low critical relative humidity is necessary.

Users can select the right desiccants based on the abovementioned factors and requirements. 

Looking to buy high-grade desiccants? Sorbead India is your place to go. Remember, help is just an email away! For more information on the best desiccants suitable for your products, our technical sales representative would be more than happy to help you. 

As a part of our survival, seed plays a vital role. The process doesn't end with harvesting the seed. But it begins with the proper storage of seeds. For instance, if you harvest the seeds from a fully grown plant, that turns out to be ideal for that particular season. But ever wondered about the rest of the seasons, how long it can be ripening? Because the seeds are living stuff & it remains alive till the food is provided. To make it long-lasting, let the seed sleep deeper & consume the food slowly.

Nevertheless, slackening the metabolism & providing the dark area is the key to making it last long for decades to keep the vigour intact. However, the actual viability of the seeds depends on how you store them, as surplus moisture & warmth result in rotting. At the same time, we need to maintain an equilibrium with the air & moisture levels present in the surroundings. The moisture level keeps varying throughout the year & therefore, there's an emerging need to secure the seeds from all the factors. Although there are seed banks that store globally in dark and low temperatures, we can store it domestically. 

THE LITTLE THE TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY, THE FINER THE SEED. 

Here's how to store it: 

There's a white silica gel in every product you choose. Silica contains silicon dioxide, which acts as a moisture absorbent. To use it, place the seeds in an air-tight container or jar & weigh them. Further, place the silica gel in the container in a separate way. Keep it packed for a week to check the results. Lastly, to know how effective the silica gel is - check the weight again. This way, you can measure how much water or moisture has been absorbed.

THE RAPID THE AGING PROCESS, THE LONGER THE VIABILITY OF THE SEED. DRYING THE SEED: 

Sometimes, the seeds may look dry from the outside. Yet, it still contains some moisture in it & there's no better way than drying it carefully. Be careful when you dry them because overheating is harmful to live seeds. Above 100° F can harm your seeds! 

On the contrary, the silica gel indicates when the moisture is soaked, it turns green from orange & you don't have to fuss. Additionally, you have to replace the desiccant after it gets moisture & it is completely safe to replace or place as it is sealed and doesn't contaminate your seeds. 

IF YOU STORE YOUR SEEDS IN ANY CONTAINER - PLASTIC, PAPER, STEEL, A DESICCANT WILL ONLY EXTEND THE SHELF LIFE. 

In cold countries, where spring is only for a short span, it is troublesome to maintain the moisture level as the air is dry. In such a situation, the seeds should be kept indoors safely & dry well so that you can consume seeds during winters. 

FREEZING THE SEED: 

If you plan to sow the seeds again after quite some years, then the seeds should be dry enough to freeze them. Before drying and sowing might not be ideal. To make it ideal, place a silica gel in your container & wait until it wicks away the moisture. We are sure that they are fully dry and good to go in the freezer. 

Pro tip: To store your seeds, check the temperature & humidity level in the atmosphere. Once you've got the measurement, add up both the numbers and check the total. If it's below 100, it's an optimum place to store it.

Pile up all those white silica gel beads you find! Monsoon is about to come.

Yes, Monsoon, the season of life. How rightly termed it isn’t? It is a season when the flora and fauna booms and flourishes at their prime. Along with them, some unwelcomed guests also find their way out through our daily households and other important stuffs. They are popularly known as the molds and fungus.

These microscopic organisms are the lovers of moisture and humid. So this monsoon, prepare ahead with our tips and techniques that can be used to keep these unwanted guests off your house.

Stay mold and mildew-free with silica gel beads

Silica gel is available in beads, pellets and crystal form. There are majorly two types of silica gel- Indicating and Non-indicating silica gel. Of which white silica gel beads are the non-indicating one that most commonly used for commercial purposes. Indicating silica gel are of two types: Blue silica gel that changes its color to pink upon saturation and orange silica gel that changes its color to green or colorless upon saturation.

Trust us! These white silica gel beads that you see inside your new shoe boxes or bags are of great use. How and where? Read along!

Gadget condensation: Monsoon season can cause major condensation issues on our gadgets. Be it phone, laptops, camera or any other electronic gadgets, this moisture formation, if ignored, can cause it to be damaged in the long run. Keep a stash of these white silica gel desiccants can help to adsorb any moisture content around your gadget; keeping them safe and clean.

Smelly shoes and bags: A prominent issue faced in monsoon- awfully smelly bags and shoes! Drop-in some white silica gel bead sachets into your shoes and bags. Moisture content will be easily adsorbed by them keeping your essential dry and odorless.

Fresh wardrobe: Dampness inside your cupboards and wardrobes can be a big spoiler. Protect your favorite clothes from the mold or mildew attack using these very humble silica gel sachet. Being highly porous they will adsorb the moisture amount thus keeping your clothes fresh and clean.

Protect your sofas: Firstly, move your furniture away from the wall. Seep in some sachets of these nontoxic silica gel under your sofa covers. You will see dampness never forming near your sofas anymore. 

Carpet dampness: This is another problem that one faces. Wetness on the carpet due to the moisture formation. Just drop some silica gel sachets underneath your carpet. See no more dampness this monsoon season.For More Details Contact Us soon.