Are you searching for a Green Desiccant
Alternative?
Texas Technologies is please to offer a Viable Alternative
to Silica Gel desiccant canisters and packets. Silica
Gel prices have increased by 35% from December 2007 to
July 2008. Bentonite Clay Canisters and Packets are an
Earth-Friendly Alternative to silica gels.
- Desi Can® Canisters are
designed for high speed, automated insertion, primarily
in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.
- Desi Pak® Packets are
an economical solution, especially for manual insertion
into product packaging.
- Desi Pak® Continu-Strip® Packets
are designed for automated insertion at slow to medium
line speeds, and feature a hole in each seal for accurate
cutting.
- Desi Pak® Bags are
used in bulk packaging and storage for the prevention
of moisture degradation of a variety of products.
Bentonite Clay, a Viable Alternative, offers
the following benefits
- Bentonite Desiccants offer higher adsorption capacity
than silica gel in the most common packaging environments.
- Bentonite Desiccants are considerably less costly
than equivalent silica gel desiccants.
- Süd-Chemie has both US and global Bentonite
reserves.
- Production of Bentonite Desiccants have less impact
on the environment: no harsh chemicals used in production,
no overseas transport and utilize less energy in production.
- Bentonite clay is a chemically inert, non-corrosive,
natural clay.
- The layered structure attracts and binds water molecules
to its vast inner and outer surface area.
- The adsorption capacity of bentonite is considerable
even at low humidity levels and increases with increasing
relative humidity.
- At high humidity levels bentonite accepts moisture
much slower than silica gel and molecular sieve, which
makes handling less problematic.
- The adsorption capacity of bentonite is greater than
silica gel in packaging conditions below 30% RH, usually
the case for most packaging applications.
- Readily available sources in the US (Süd-Chemie
owns a bentonite mine in Arizona and others throughout
the world).
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The Bentonite
Process is “Greener” and
produces a smaller Environmental Footprint
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- Bentonite clay is mined from underneath 40
feet of overburden (Süd-Chemie utilizes
common reclamation measures to minimize environmental
impact and promote return of native vegetation).
- Bentonite is shipped from within the US, usually
from a mine site in Arizona to New Mexico plant
site.
- Bentonite is dried on site to approximately
2 percent residual moisture and separated into
different mesh sizes.
- Utilized to produce packaging products on site.
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- Sand is mined, often from beaches and inland
dunes or dredged from ocean or river beds.
- Sodium silicate produced by fusing sand and
sodium carbonate in various proportions (energy
intensive).
- Sodium silicate and sulfuric acid reacted together
making reaction products sodium sulfate (Na2SO4)
and amorphous silica gel (SiO2)x. Product settles
to the bottom of a tank, and the effluent is
decanted off.
- Effluent must be neutralized to acceptable
Ph levels and removed and disposed of, usually
by local municipality.
- Silica gel is washed to a desired conductivity
level and dried to less than 3 percent residual
moisture.
- Silica gel is collected and bagged.
- Silica gel is shipped to end user, usually
via overseas transport (most common sources of
silica gel for desiccants are in China).
- Utilized to produce packaging products.
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