Novel desiccants based on designed polymeric blends

Abstract

We describe a novel concept for the preparation of desiccants based on polymeric blends. A hydrophilic channeling agent (e.g., PEG) is blended with a hydrophobic polymer (e.g., polypropylene) to produce interconnecting hydrophilic channels within the hydrophobic polymer. To make the system desiccating, a water‐absorbing material is blended into the polymeric matrix to become distributed within the hydrophilic portion. The resultant blend may be molded and cast into plug‐type inserts and liners for closed containers, or formed into films, sheets, beads, or pellets; its uses include pharmaceutical and industrial applications. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 317–327, 2001

Desiccant capability of organic xerogels: Surface chemistry vs porous texture

“…Other examples include the use of desiccant materials for controlling the level of water in industrial gas streams, in air conditioner systems, for storing and protecting goods in shipping containers against moisture damage (e.g., electronic devices, foods, clothes, etc.) [38].…”

Interfacial interactions and reinforcement in thermoplastics/zeolite composites

“…The dependence of composite modulus is expressed by the following expression [31] ( 4) where Em is the modulus of the matrix polymer, b is the volume fraction of bonded particles and  is defined as (5) where m is the Poisson's ratio of the matrix. Since debonded particles cannot carry any load, modulus must be corrected by the effective load-bearing cross-section of the matrix, thus composite stiffness becomes (6) and the amount of bonded particles is defined as (7) where f is total filler content, while d is the volume fraction of debonded particles. If the modulus (Ec) of pre-strained composite samples is determined and m is known, the amount of bonded (b) and debonded (d) particles can be calculated from Eqs.…”

“…Desiccant characteristic are used mainly in the packaging industry, the most frequently in electronics [2] and pharma [3][4][5]; they can be achieved by combining polymers with fillers which adsorb or absorb water. The simplest and industrially most viable solution is the use of a desiccant filler, usually a silica gel [6] or zeolite [7]. The fillers adsorb water on their large, high energy surface thus preventing the contact of the packaged ware with humidity.…”

Experimental comparison and analysis on silica gel and polymer coated fin-tube heat exchangers

“…Two types of desiccant materials are used in the experiments, the first one is commonly used silica gel and the other one is polymer which emerges as novel desiccant material in recent years [15,16]. For silica gel, both the solid and liquid ones (as shown in Table 1) are adhered to DCHE to enhance the attachment capacity.…”