Activated alumina is an efficient desiccant that can be utilized across many applications to manage moisture. It works effectively in both gases and liquid environments, with activated alumina outperforming silica gel in terms of dehumidification effectiveness in these mediums.
Increased investment in water treatment infrastructure and increasing gas demand is fuelling the activated alumina market. Major players in this space include BASF SE, J.M. Huber Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd, Porocel Axens and Dynamic Adsorbents among many others.
Activated Alumina Price
Activated alumina is an extremely porous material used as a catalyst, desiccant, fluoride adsorbent and bioceramics material. Produced by dihydroxylation of aluminum hydroxide and produced in beads, pellets granules or powder form. A popular choice in water treatment systems as it removes impurities while simultaneously adsorbing volatile organic compounds and phenols.
Adsorption capacity depends on its surface area and porosity; activated alumina has a large surface area due to being produced from aluminium ore that undergoes high-temperature activation, providing it with more pores for moisture absorption than silica gel. Furthermore, due to this extensive porous structure with numerous pores and voids it has a superior moisture-absorbent capacity than silica gel.
Activated alumina has the capability of both absorbing moisture and resisting physical stress, making it an excellent adsorbent material. With high crush strength, its structure won’t crack under pressure; making it ideal for loading desiccant towers. Furthermore, activated alumina’s liquid water-slugging resistance helps it prevent channeling when used as prebed material.
Asia Pacific is currently the global market leader for activated alumina due to growing investments in water treatment infrastructure and their increased usage for CNG/LPG compression gas use, driving demand.
Activated Alumina Regeneration
Activated alumina is an efficient air purifier, and its adsorption process reduces harmful gases to improve indoor air quality. Furthermore, activated alumina absorbs volatile organic compounds (VOCs), making it suitable for both industrial and residential settings. Safe to handle when handled appropriately and stored in an incompatible chemicals free environment.
Alumina is an extremely porous material with a surface area exceeding 200 square meters per gram, featuring many tunnel-like pores that allow it to capture and retain water molecules from surrounding air. As moisture increases in the atmosphere, more alumina will absorb it until reaching equilibrium with relative humidity levels – at which point, it no longer absorbs moisture and must be regenerated for continued usage.
Regenerating activated alumina requires heating the material at high temperatures. Although this process is energy intensive, ultrasound technology offers an energy saving alternative: heating with nitrogen or air as fuel while setting ultrasound frequency to 28kHz will decrease heating times significantly; ultrasonic power-to-total power ratio typically ranges between 0.2, 0.25, or 0.4 for efficient regeneration of activated alumina.
Activated alumina’s unique ability to trap moisture makes it a fantastic desiccant, often used in manufacturing industries for eliminating corrosion-causing moisture issues from gases and liquids, or protecting delicate products against moisture damage. Common applications of activated alumina desiccants are in petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food processing and other similar industries as a moisture absorbent desiccants.
Activated Alumina Applications
Activated alumina is an efficient solution for moisture control in various applications. Its large surface area and porous structure combine to give it an impressive adsorption capacity that outstrips even silica gel’s capacity, and the mechanism works by taking advantage of water molecules’ affinity towards aluminium oxide molecules; when they enter activated alumina they become trapped inside its structure until either heat or pressure swing can release them from within its structure.
Activated alumina has several distinct advantages over silica gel: it does not lose its moisture-adsorption capability in environments with high humidity, its bulk density is lower, and durability increases over time. These characteristics make activated alumina an economical and cost-efficient option for moisture control in demanding environments.
Activated alumina has superior adsorption properties and thermal stability, making it an excellent adsorbent to remove hydrogen sulfide, aqueous sulphur dioxide and other contaminants from gas streams in natural gas and petrochemical industries. Furthermore, its use helps optimize catalytic reactor performance while decreasing environmental emissions.
Although activated alumina offers many benefits, it has some drawbacks as well. When exposed to high humidity conditions, activated alumina may lose its adsorption capacity, leading to fluoride leaching into treated water supplies; this problem can be reduced with proper maintenance and regeneration programs. Furthermore, activated alumina is susceptible to abrasion that results in fine particle formation which interferes with its absorption process as well as decrease pore sizes causing problems during adsorption processes and reduced pore sizes impact.
Activated Alumina Suppliers
Activated alumina is an outstanding material choice for air and gas dehydration (drying). It is highly efficient, highly durable, and boasts excellent thermal stability – meaning that extreme temperatures do not significantly damage it over time – which makes it suitable for applications where temperature variations occur frequently, such as manufacturing processes.
Numerous companies produce activated alumina desiccants for various industries. Activated alumina has many applications in water purification, natural gas processing and petrochemical production – from water treatment with contaminants such as fluoride, arsenic and selenium removal from drinking water to purifying gases and vapours by removing carbon dioxide, moisture content or any trace impurities from them.
Notable manufacturers of activated alumina include BASF SE (Germany), Honeywell International Inc (US), Sumitomo Chemical Co (Japan), and Porocel Industries LLC (US). Each offers various forms of activated alumina such as granules and powders; 1,000-gram bottles contain the former while powders come packaged in bags. Their activated alumina products serve industries including medical, food, air separation, refining, renewable fuel production, oil & gas extraction as well as natural gas production industries as well as petrochemical production industries.
Activated alumina is most frequently available in beads, pellets and granule forms. Particle size directly affects surface area and pore network structure – ultimately influencing how easily liquids and gases can be absorbed by it. Activated alumina has the capacity to adsorb up to 20% of its weight in water depending on its specific type; additionally it has been found effective against volatile organic compounds like phenols and cyanides.