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Desiccants absorb moisture and have various uses, from chemical preparation to protecting items during shipping. Common desiccants include silica gel, salt, and rice. Desiccants can also have antifungal, antimicrobial, or antiviral properties. They can be refreshed or disposable, but it’s important to choose the appropriate desiccant to avoid problems.
Desiccants are substances that absorb moisture from their surroundings. There are a number of uses for desiccants, ranging from preparing chemicals in a chemical plant to protecting moisture-sensitive items during shipping. Some common desiccants include activated carbon, sodium perchlorate, calcium sulfate, and silica gel. In the household, salt and rice are both desiccants and have historically been used for their desiccating properties by many cultures. Salt, for example, was a key component in mummification in Egypt, used to draw water from bodies to slow or stop the rate of decay.
Dryness is often a desired property. Many objects can dry by evaporation, but water loss slows as evaporation reduces the object’s moisture content to that of its surroundings. Once an object is as moist as its surroundings, it can’t lose any more water, which is where desiccants can come in. Enclosing the object in a container with a desiccant will allow it to lose more water as the desiccant sucks up the fluid.
A common use of desiccants is in shipping, where things can be damaged if they get wet. Desiccants are included in the package to extract the water and can be discarded once the items arrive at their destination. These products are also used in dehumidifiers, breaking down the humidity in the air by sucking in water. Adsorption cooling systems exploit this feature to lower humidity and make hot temperatures less extreme.
In addition to being desiccants, desiccants can have other properties as well. Some are antifungal, antimicrobial, or antiviral, making them useful for a variety of applications. Many are unsafe to eat and are labeled accordingly so people don’t get confused. Some are treated with materials that stain when the desiccants attract water, allowing people to see when the maximum amount of water has been absorbed.
In some cases, a desiccant bag or sachet can be refreshed by heating it to force it to release the water, allowing for reuse. Others are disposable and must be discarded once they have served their purpose. It is important to select a desiccant that is appropriate for the task, as people want to avoid corrosion, chemical reactions and other problems that can occur if the wrong substance is used as a desiccant. Salt, for example, causes metal to corrode, which would make it unsuitable in environments where metal is present.
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