What is Silica Gel?
Silica gel is used as a desicant to control local humidity in order to avoid spoilage or degradation of some goods. Because of poisonous dopants and their very high absorption of moisture, silica gel packets bear warnings for the user not to eat the contents. If consumed, the pure silica gel is unlikely to cause acute or chronic illness.
Silica gel is form of silicon dioxide, Si02, the material that occurs in nature as sand. The difference between silica gel and sand is that sand is a crystalline, non-porous form, whereas silica gel is non-crystalline and highly porous. Silica gel is synthetically manufactured from the chemical reaction between sodium silicate and sulfuric acid. Silica gel is an amorphous adsorptive substance with stable chemical properties and has a highly complicated porous structure. It is odorless, tasteless, and non-toxic, and offers an excellent capacity for physical and chemical dehumidification because of good absorbability, chemical stability, wide surface area and higher mechanical strength. Therefore, silica gel is used for packing food, pharmaceuticals, goods for export and precision instruments. Silica gel is easy to handle and silica gel saturated with moisture can be regenerated to offer new moisture protection by simply reheating under specified condition.
Silica gel is silicon dioxide (SiO2), an amorphous form of silica which is manufactured from sodium silicate and sulfuric acid. It is a naturally occurring mineral that is purified and processed into beaded or granular form. Like clay desiccant, silica gel is also non-corrosive and chemically inert.
