Air drying is the process of removing water content or moisture from the air to keep it humid-free. Air surrounding or trapped within pieces of equipment or products have to be maintained moisture-free to prevent any damages. There are many different ways to keep air dry from moisture. Desiccants are widely used for the air-drying process. A variety of drying desiccants are available. Among them, we will discuss activated alumina, which is the best air drying desiccant.
What is activated alumina?
Activated alumina is a derivative of aluminium oxide, which is produced by processing aluminium oxide at an elevated temperature. The basic characteristics of activated alumina are that it is a porous solid form of aluminium oxide which is odorless, non-toxic, tasteless, and insoluble in water. These properties make it a perfect desiccant for air drying and water purification.
Benefits of activated alumina balls
Activated alumina balls are widely used as an air drying agent. These balls hold many characteristics which will prove that activated alumina is the best air drying desiccant. Let's view them in detail.
- Activated alumina has a higher surface area than many other desiccants. This will enable the activated desiccant to adsorb maximum water content from the surrounding air.
- One more major attraction of activated alumina balls is that they have a higher adsorption rate. So maximum and fast adsorption is guaranteed when these are in use. Another advantage is that the property of high adsorption can be restored completely with proper regeneration, which is a quite easy and simple process.
- Its high resistant ability to thermal shock and high mechanical strength or crush strength enables it to endure the high-pressure situations in various industrial applications. This also makes it a perfect pre-bed material for other desiccants.
- The activated desiccant holds a uniform bead size. Because of this feature, complete utilization of the entire bed column is ensured even at low-pressure drop points.
- This desiccant has a higher affinity towards water than molecular sieves. So this can be used when adsorption of most moisture is mandatory.
- Few other highlights of activated alumina balls are they never shrink or swell, remain effective even at high pressure, can be regenerated and reused, and have a long service life.
These features ensure the choice of activated alumina for air drying as the best.
