Gallery, Projects and General > Project Logs
Making a Desiccant Air Dryer with Silica Gel
awemawson:
The recycled silica gel is noticeably darker than the original - I suspect that I may have over cooked it - I'm sure that the water has been driven off, but perhaps I've affected whatever chemical is being used as a moisture indicator :scratch:
mattinker:
Try a few grains "test" to see whether the colour changes!
Cheers, Matthew.
awemawson:
Yes I have Matthew and it does :thumbup:
It turns out the the orange indicator in the silica gel is Methyl violet, but I've not been able to find anything about it's temperature stability. However I have found that the gel will recycle at a lower temperature - 120 deg C rather than the 140 I aimed for and possibly overshot :scratch:
I think the gel will work still very effectively, but the indicator colour change, although it happens, isn't quite as definitive.
mattinker:
That makes me think of other comparative tests, new and old! I think you've probably started thinking about that having begun tests! i would have though that it was the indicator capacity that would change, not the water absorption. It'll be interesting to see what you come up with!
cheers Matthew.
Will_D:
Suggest you weigh out say 50 grams, leave in damp place for some time, weigh it again.
During drying weigh it say every 30 mins and watch what happens to the weights.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version