I have a questions I haven’t found answered anywhere, but maybe someone here can help out.

First, some background:

I have bought this silica gel with indicator a while ago and have used it in my AMS and also for storing my filament in ziplock bags.

I now want to dry some of the silica gel, and have looked at the various options there are. I want to rule out the use of my kitchen appliances, as I am not fully convinced of the silica with indicator being really fully non-hazardous. I also recently bought a Creality Space Pi dryer, which I would like to use for drying my silica as well. Of course I would need to print a container for that, and since I only have PLA and PETG available at the moment, I wouldn’t be able to drive the dryer too hot.

Online you can find many different opinions about the ideal drying temperature for silica gel, ranging from 60°C to 145°C.

Efficient energy usage is no big concern for me with this, as my PV modules produce a lot of excess power during the current season.

Question:

What temperature should I dry the silica gel at, and does a longer drying time at lower temperature equal the same results as a quicker drying at higher temperature?

Or does higher temperature actually remove more humidity overall, which a lower temperature can maybe not achieve regardless of time?

  • elucubra@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    1·
    17 hours ago

    While pure silica gel should not be very toxic, colored silica gel has compounds that produce that color change.

    You’ll notice that silica gel is not sold as “pure”.

    The thing is that none are food grade, so it’s perfectly legal to have impurities, and from what I have read, the coloring agents are toxic. Usually not worrying in the amounts used in the hobby, but still, what I warn people is about heating, breathing, etc products or materials which produce suspensions, aerosols, vapors for which we have little research or data.