Can I completely dry air with calcium chloride?

Question

I'm trying to dry air by leading it through calcium chloride.

I'm measuring the resulting humidity with a simple capacitive humidity sensor. I do not see measurements below 10% relative humidity, but it is quite possible that it is a result of a calibration error (The sensor is not actually calibrated.)

But how dry can I get air by exposing it sufficiently long to calcium chloride dihydrate?

Answer 1

"Completely dry"? No, because molecules are always moving and there will be some exchange between desiccant and air. If you mean "below 10% relative humidity (RH)", there are a number of ways to do so:

• Consider that another way to discuss humidity is the dew point. Use a cold trap: after drying the air with a desiccant, pass the air slowly through a U-tube (or better, a through a spiral condenser) cooled with ethanol/dry ice or similar bath. As the air emerges, the dew point, ~200 K for dry ice, remains that of the bath, but as it warms to room temperature, the RH would fall.
• Dry the air with desiccant at room temperature, then heat the air (not desiccant) and the RH drops.
• Synthesize air from ~80% liquid nitrogen and ~20% liquid oxygen. If you're a stickler for accuracy in the simulation, add a dash of liquid argon, and a smidgen of liquefied CO2 (not dry ice, which, being open to air, quickly condenses water). These liquefied gases can probably be obtained from a welding supply shop.

BTW, don't forget to bake your apparatus before use! Metal, and particularly glass, adsorb water quite well, and slowly release it at low RH or pressure.