Activated alumina is an efficient desiccant used to absorb and extract moisture from air and liquid sources, such as air conditioning systems or refrigeration units. Due to its excellent moisture-absorption capability, high porosity, and thermal stability properties, activated alumina finds use across an array of applications and environments.
Dehydration capabilities of water treatment facilities are crucial in oil and gas industry processes, preventing hydrate formation that could damage pipelines and equipment. They’re also vital in water purification systems to remove fluoride, arsenic and selenium contaminants from drinking water supplies.
High Adsorption Capacity
Activated alumina is a porous material produced through calcination of aluminium oxide and subsequent activation, yielding a multi-pore network structure with exceptional adsorption capacity, making it highly sought-after across a wide array of applications.
One of the hallmarks of activated alumina’s major strengths lies in its water adsorption capacity, enabling moisture removal from gases and liquids on an expansive scale. This feature makes it suitable for compressed air dryers, gas drying systems and dehydration processes.
Food processing and electronics manufacturing also use this process to prevent moisture damage to products during transport and storage, as well as to dry kerosene, aromatic compounds and essences, remove degradation acids from transformer oils and lubricating oils, or dry other liquids that require drying.
Activated alumina desiccant is highly thermal stable, making it suitable for long-term applications without degrading in performance over time. This property makes it suitable as an alternative to molecular sieve in many situations; additionally, its excellent high temperature performance makes it suitable for use in gas production processes that experience significant temperature variations.
Excellent Thermal Stability
As opposed to silica gel and molecular sieve desiccants which consist of permeable materials with openings of fixed size, activated alumina differs by having highly porous pores with high surface area and permeability that allow water vapor from air to be drawn in and absorb by it.
Activated alumina is produced through the calcination of aluminium hydroxide extracted from bauxite ore and processed at elevated temperatures to remove water molecules and create a network of pores, increasing its moisture-adsorbing capabilities. Once produced, further enhancement is possible through impregnating it with chemical solutions like phosphoric acid or potassium permanganate to further increase moisture absorption capabilities.
Active alumina’s adsorption capabilities can be further increased through custom manufacturing processes, with its pores and surface area specifically tailored for specific applications. Furthermore, its low dust generation makes this material perfect for applications requiring air purification.
Activated alumina can be used to dry a variety of gases, such as acetylene, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Furthermore, activated alumina is useful for defluorination purposes by eliminating degradation acids found in transformer oils and lubricating oils as well as for dehydrating compressed air.
Versatility in Adsorption Applications
Activated alumina’s strong affinity for water molecules makes it a superior desiccant that effectively removes moisture from air, gases and liquids. Furthermore, activated alumina is often employed as part of compressed air systems to dry compressed air before entering machinery to avoid corrosion and oxidation damage.
Alumina is often employed in water treatment to adsorb fluoride from drinking water sources and prevent fluorosis. Alumina can also be used to purify natural gas and petrochemicals by removing carbon dioxide and trace impurities such as moisture, hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulphide (H2S).
Moisture-laden environments can be detrimental to industrial operations, compromising product quality and production efficiency. Activated alumina’s ability to adsorb H2S and other contaminants reduces downtime, protects products from degradation, and keeps equipment functioning efficiently – keeping operations flowing more smoothly overall. Additionally, moisture control solutions eliminate moisture-related issues to preserve product freshness and extend shelf life for consumables such as electronics and chemicals. Its durability and low adsorption cost ensure long-term operational savings due to regeneration and reduced replacement frequencies. High absorption capacity and ability to be regenerated at elevated temperatures provide significant economic value to this material. At FEECO Innovation Center, thermal and agglomeration testing is available to evaluate performance and determine an ideal material for your specific application.
Low Bulk Density
Activated alumina’s low bulk density makes it an effective desiccant, particularly in high humidity environments where silica gel tends to lose capacity. Furthermore, activated alumina retains more adsorption capacity at elevated temperatures than silica gel.
Activated alumina is manufactured through controlled heating of hydrated alumina to dehydrate it and form pores, while temperature, time, and impurities during activation can be carefully adjusted to customize its pore structure to specific applications. This allows manufacturers to craft desiccants with various pore sizes and surface areas.
One of the primary uses for activated alumina is water purification. The material can help remove fluoride from drinking water in areas where fluoride levels have reached dangerously high levels and caused fluorosis, and also as a catalyst support in oil refinement and petrochemical production, increasing catalytic efficiency and improving catalytic performance. Furthermore, activated alumina can also be utilized in gas and vapour absorption applications to remove moisture, carbon dioxide, trace chemicals from gases or vapours, increasing product quality while improving product quality and safety.
Low Moisture Content
Moisture control is vital to many industries and applications, from keeping industrial processes running efficiently to medical equipment functioning optimally. Too much moisture can cause corrosion, spoil products or damage equipment; activated alumina desiccant can effectively address this problem as it absorbs and removes water vapor from air while helping prevent its negative repercussions.
To produce activated alumina, aluminum hydroxide must first be extracted from bauxite or other sources and treated through a calcination process, which alters its structure and transforms it into an adsorptive material with increased pore network capabilities for increased adsorptive capacity.
Activated alumina differs from silica gel by being an inorganic solid that typically comes in the form of solid granules of varying sizes that is stored in metal cans or containers for safe handling and maximum efficiency. When handling activated alumina it’s essential that it remains under ideal conditions to ensure safe handling and maximum efficiency – when handling, wear protective equipment such as chemical resistant gloves, safety goggles/face shields or face shields as well as a dust mask to guard against irritation from airborne particles or irritation by breathing them in.