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Silica gel dries flowers quickly, so it can be used to dry more flowers during a single season than the same quantity of a borax mixture. Silica gel is available under a number of trade names. It is white, but some types contain blue crystals that act as an indicator of the amount of moisture that has been absorbed.
Silica gel's high specific surface area—around 750–800 m 2 /g (230,000–240,000 sq ft/oz) [6] —allows it to adsorb water readily, making it useful as a desiccant (drying agent). Silica gel is often described as "absorbing" moisture, which may be appropriate when the gel's microscopic structure is ignored, as in silica gel packs or other ...
If a collector wishes to preserve a flower in its natural shape they will use a desiccant. The most commonly used desiccant is silica gel. To do this flowers are placed in a box, and the desiccant is added till the flowers are covered. After 2–7 days the desiccant is removed, revealing the preserved flowers. [12]
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Desiccants and freeze-drying: Silica gel or freeze-drying methods can be applied to specimens that require preservation of the shape of a delicate organ such as a flower. Disadvantages of this technique are that the specimen is especially fragile and lacks support.
In acidic solutions, the silicate ions react with hydrogen ions to form silicic acids, which tend to decompose into hydrated silicon dioxide gel. [citation needed] Heated to drive off the water, the result is a hard translucent substance called silica gel, widely used as a desiccant. It can withstand temperatures up to 1100 °C. [citation needed]