Benefits of exchanging silica gel for AbsorGel®

What are the benefits of exchanging silica gel for AbsorGel® calcium chloride desiccants? The most important difference between both desiccants is their absorption capacity.

Silica gel is a form of silica that can typically hold 25% of its weight in water. On the other hand, the mix AbsorGel® can hold up to 250-300% of its own weigh. In other words, the absorption capacity of AbsorGel® is 10-12 times higher than silica gel (read more here).

In the case of container desiccants, the higher absorption capacity of AbsorGel® means you need a lot less of it than silica gel for the same effect.

Put in weight, switching from silica gel to AbsorGel® means you only need 10% of the total weight of the silica gel for the same protection. This will also shorten installation and deinstallation along with reducing handling requirements.

For a company using small pouches of silica gel (1 to 10 g), it can be difficult to reduce the amount of desiccant, but other benefits can be reaped:

1. Effectiveness in preventing all moisture damages.
2. More protection in case of unforeseen circumstances.
3. Exchanging pouches for container desiccants could simplify the packaging process and reduce costs.
4. Removal of polybags or inner packaging when choosing container protection or in-box protection, instead of individual pouches for each item.

Besides, leading garment manufacturers have banned some silica gel pouches as they may contain small concentrations of cobalt (II) chloride, a heavy metal salt used as an indicator to visually identify the saturation level in the “blue silica gel”. Cobalt (II) chloride is a dangerous and poisonous substance that can cause contamination and impact our health. Cobalt (II) chloride was included in the candidate list of substances of very high concern for Authorisation by ECHA (European Chemicals Agency).

AbsorGel® on the other hand is a natural desiccant based on calcium chloride, a compound present in nature.

Take steps to save costs, installation time and the environment.