What is the Difference Between Oxygen Absorber and Silica Gel

Thekey difference between oxygen absorber and silica gelis that oxygen absorbers absorb oxygen but not moisture, whereas silica gel can absorb moisture.

Oxygen absorbers and silica gel are important substances used in food packaging applications. An oxygen absorber or oxygen scavenger is a substance that we use to remove or decrease the level of oxygen in a package. Silica gel is a type of分子筛that has an irregular pattern of silicon and oxygen atoms with non-uniform pores.

内容

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is an Oxygen Absorber
3.What is a Silica Gel
4.Oxygen Absorber vs Silica Gel in Tabular Form
5.Summary – Oxygen Absorber vs Silica Gel

What is an Oxygen Absorber?

吸收器或氧气清道夫是一种有助于去除或降低包装中氧气水平的物质。氧气吸收剂也有助于维持产品安全并延长保质期。它们通常是小的，封闭的数据包或小袋（如下图所示）。氧气吸收器可以是包装膜或结构的一部分的单独组件或一部分。

The composition of an oxygen absorber varies depending on the intended use, water activity of the product that it is intended to preserve, and some other factors. Typically, modern oxygen absorber packets use a mixture of iron powder and氯化钠. However, it often includes activated carbon because it can absorb some other gases and organic molecules. This helps to preserve the food further and remove odors. The first oxygen absorber used was an alkaline solution of pyrogallic acid in an air-tight vessel.

有几个强的好处g oxygen absorbers: helping to retain the fresh-roasted flavor of coffee and nuts, preventing oxidation of spice oleoresins, preventing oxidation of vitamin A, C, and E, extending the life of pharmaceuticals, etc.

What is Silica Gel?

Silica gel is a type of molecular sieve having an irregular pattern of silicon and oxygen atoms with non-uniform pores. It is an amorphous form ofsilicon dioxide. Moreover, it contains nanometer-scale voids and pores. These voids may contain either water or any other fluid used in the preparation of the silica gel. E.g., gas, vacuum, other solvents, etc. Since the pore sizes are non-uniform, we can say that this molecular sieve has an average pore size of 2.4 nm.

Silica gel has a strong affinity toward water, so we can use it as adesiccant. This material is very hard and translucent. However, it is considerably softer than silica glass or quartz. When silica gel is saturated with water, it remains in a hard state.

In commercial grade, we can find silica gel in the form of granules or beads. These beads have a diameter of a few millimetres. Sometimes, these beads also contain some amount of an indicator reagent that can change the colour of the beads when water is absorbed. As a desiccant, these beads are included in food packages as small packets to absorb water vapour inside the package.

氧气吸收器和硅胶有什么区别？

The key difference between oxygen absorber and silica gel is that oxygen absorbers absorb oxygen but not moisture, whereas silica gel can absorb moisture. Moreover, oxygen absorbers are typically made of iron powder and salt, whereas silica gels are made of an amorphous and porous form of silicon dioxide.

以下信息图显示了氧气吸收器和硅胶以表格比较的差异.

Summary – Oxygen Absorber vs Silica Gel

吸收器或氧气清道夫是一种有助于去除或降低包装中氧气水平的物质。二氧化硅凝胶是一种分子筛，含有不均匀孔的硅和氧原子的不规则图案。氧气吸收器和硅胶之间的关键区别在于它们吸收水分的能力，即氧气吸收剂无法吸收水分，而硅胶可以吸收水分。

Reference:

1.“”Silica Gel.”百科全书大不列颠，百科全书大不列颠公司

Image Courtesy:

1.“”Mitsubishi Gas Chemical oxygen absorber Ageless contents 20090104” By Dom0803 (talk) – Own work (Original text: I created this work entirely by myself.) (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Silica-silica-gel-desiccant-dry” (CC0) via Pixabay