Desiccant has a wide range of applications in many fields, from food and medicine packaging to electronic equipment storage, and its production process is also quite unique.
The first is the preparation of raw materials. The main raw materials for making desiccant are usually silica gel, montmorillonite, calcium chloride, etc. For the production of silica gel desiccant, high-quality silica gel particles are the key. These silica gel particles need to be carefully screened to remove possible impurities and large particles to ensure the uniform quality of the desiccant produced later. If it is a montmorillonite desiccant, it is necessary to select a high-purity montmorillonite ore source, and after preliminary grinding and screening, let its particle size reach the appropriate range.
The next step is the molding process. Taking silica gel desiccant as an example, after preparing qualified silica gel particles, they will be placed in a specific mold and formed into a regular shape by extrusion or molding. Common shapes are spherical and square. This process requires precise control of parameters such as pressure and temperature. Excessive pressure may cause silica gel to rupture, and inappropriate temperature will affect the molding effect and physical properties of silica gel.
Then there is the drying process. The semi-finished desiccant after molding needs to be dried to remove excess moisture. This process is usually carried out in special drying equipment, such as a drying oven. Depending on the type of desiccant and the production process, the drying temperature and time also vary. For example, the drying temperature of silica gel desiccant is generally around 100-150 degrees Celsius, and the drying time may take several hours to more than ten hours to ensure that the moisture inside the desiccant is fully removed and the ideal dry state is achieved.
Then there is the activation treatment. This step is very important for improving the hygroscopic properties of the desiccant. For silica gel desiccant, the activation treatment is often carried out at high temperature to further increase the porosity of silica gel and make it have better hygroscopic capacity. The activation temperature may be as high as several hundred degrees Celsius, and the activation time and temperature change curve need to be strictly controlled to ensure that the desiccant achieves the best hygroscopic effect.
The last step is packaging. The desiccant that has been processed through the previous series of processes needs to be packaged. The packaging material usually has good moisture-proof properties, and common ones are aluminum foil bags, plastic sealed bags, etc. During the packaging process, it is necessary to ensure that the desiccant is not affected by the external environment, and at the same time, it is accurately packaged according to the specified weight or quantity to meet the needs of different customers and markets. Through this series of rigorous process, the desiccant can finally enter the market and play an important role in protecting products from moisture.
