Humidity control bags are indispensable to suit the packaging and storage of moisture-vulnerable products across industries (pharma), food storage and packaging, electronics and cannabis or cigar industry. These bags control relative humidity (RH) and restrict the exposure from too humid or dry. Although desiccants such as silica gel have been used extensively in the past, the advent of superior systems like ruksak™ changed the face of this technology.
ruksak™: patented two-way humidity regulation by eco-friendly materials to increase environmental sustainability and practically intervene in next generation solutions to moisture management woes.
Humidity control systems simplification
Building blocks for proper humidity management
Hygro bags are extremely needed in preventing environmental condition dangers for moisture-sensitive products and machinery. These systems work via different design models to either pump excess moisture out of an area or to hold a constant humidity parameter. The way in which this works is usually moisture active materials that trigger a microclimate within packaging or storage systems and supply the necessary security.
The historical evolution
Devices have progressed from basic packets of desiccants to complex humidity regulation technologies that can absorb and release the moisture depending on environmental factors. This progression has permitted a level of sophistication in the manner we can control storage conditions among different applications and industries.
Humidity effects on materials and products
High humidity can severely compromise a wide range of materials, such as wood, fabrics, paper or even architectural structures through mechanisms such as fungal growth and chemical degradation. Research has shown that paper strength breaks down by about 50% at a moisture content of 14%, which could occur at around 90% relative humidity. This moisture sensitivity reaches to the pharmaceuticals, electronics and agricultural products necessitating effective humidity control mechanisms.
Humidity control bags - mechanisms and materials
Desiccants systems
Desiccant bags, using desiccants that absorb humidity out of the surrounding air, are one of the widely used humidity barriers, and desiccant bags come in the market made from different materials, all of which absorb moisture. The two major kinds are clay desiccant bags and silica desiccant bags having different levels of absorption that cater to distinct applications. Some of the best systems place Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors (VCI) to confine dual protection not just against humidity but also corrosion.
Moisture-soaking products
Some humidity control bags use modern moisture-absorbing technologies:
- Color changing silica gel beads once saturated (orange when dry and dark brown/green when wet)
- Water sorbing: aqueous crystal based systems that dissolve to brine solution as they soak water from the air
- Zeolite moisture absorption technology for higher capacity in some applications
- Salt-solution systems that can draw moisture in through a specific membrane
Two-way humidity regulation
The only systems that are considered “superior” regulate temperature and humidity both in and out: they absorb water vapor when the ambient surroundings aren’t wet, and release it when too dry. More elaborate systems use a patented technology to keep humidity equilibrium inside storage containers especially critical for products that need specific levels of moisture; as in the case of cannabis, cigars and wooden instruments.
Absorbent films and membranes
Examples of new developments are moisture absorptive films made that integrate desiccants into the packaging material itself. They most commonly consist of several layers (PET/Al foil/polyethylene/moisture absorbent layer/polyethylene), with the innermost layer permitting moisture transfer to an outer drying stage while remaining a barrier against external moisture exchange. Different configurations can maintain either 0% relative humidity or controlled humidity levels between 20-30%.
ruksak™, a game-changer in humidity control bag
Regardless of whether it’s cannabis, pharmaceuticals, or agricultural products, continuing to have the right relative humidity (RH) is important for freshness and avoiding spoilage. Said to be the newest invention in this sense is ruksak™, a patent-pending two-way humidity control bag. A recent case study with 30 days compared the ruksak™ performance of cannabis in both indoor and outdoor environments in Massachusetts. We will review the study results and demonstrate the capabilities of RH with ruksak™, terpene preservation, and microbial reduction.
ruksak™ uses a wood and bamboo fiber-based membrane that is hydrophobic in nature – patented technology for adaptive humidity. As opposed to traditional desiccant systems that only collect moisture, ruksak™ can actively absorb over 62% RH and actively release when the humidity is below this level. It establishes a steady microclimate inside the bag in two ways, making it great for portable preservation of cannabis and other products that tend to degrade with time.
ruksak™ T30 bags with a capacity of 7 grams (1/4 oz) were used for the study to keep cannabis samples taken from indoor and outdoor cultivation facilities. The bags were opened 4x over 30 days to represent real-world use by collecting data and calibrating devices. We sought to examine how well ruksak™ would hold in the target RH range across a variety of environmental regimes.
Relative humidity performance
ruksak™ maintained RH in the 62% ± 3% target range for both indoor and outdoor samples over a 30-day trial:
- RH of indoor samples: Consistently Indoor RH stayed within the target throughout periodic bag openings
- Outdoor samples: the RH did not vary much even as the bag was exposed to different environmental conditions, showcasing its toughness to external humidity variations.
Moisture content preservation
Due to the importance of moisture in preservation of cannabis quality The invasive studies showed that indoor and outdoor moisture content declined significantly, yet from 30 days, mainly due to lower ambient temperature during the last sampling period.
However, the moisture content stayed within market-acceptable regulations (5 % – 15%) which prevented the cannabis from drying out or becoming too moist.
The low RH capabilities of ruksak™ helped keeping good moisture content levels to avoid overdrying and mold growth.
Terpene profile preservation
The terpenes in cannabis are aroma, flavor and therapeutic constituents that are volatile compounds. To ensure product quality, these compounds need to be preserved. Measurements of the terpene profiles were evaluated at different time-points in the study and found to be as follow:
- Stability over time points – indoor and outdoor terpene profiles were very similar in both temperature-influenced time points (three weeks) across the indoor control room
- Slight decrease in lighter terpenes: Like myrcene, which has fewer terpenes that boiled at a lower temp; in indoor samples, this decreased in light. Due to volatility during storage, we expect this
- Larger and heavier terpenes increase: Some heavier boiling terpenes demonstrated mild increases, probably due to ongoing curing in the controlled environment of Ruksak™ bags.
Orthomicrobials content
One of the major issues with cannabis storage is microbes in general especially for outdoor products, which will be contaminated by the environment. For the second, microbial analyses were made with some screens (e.g., total amount of aerobic bacteria [AC], yeast & mold [YM], coliform bacteria count [CC], and Enterobacteriaceae count [EB] as below in a study done:
- Indoors samples: The presence of microorganisms in all of the samples stayed under 100 CFU/g throughout the study. STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) and Salmonella were tested negative at each time point.
- Outdoor samples: significant reduction of microbial content over 30 days, although bacteria (AC and EB) differed in one strain. Which could imply that the somehow controlled environment of Ruksak™ may prevent microbial growth.
Why ruksak™ outperforms traditional solutions
2 way humidity control
Traditional desiccants like silica gels are limited which can only absorb moisture and have to be changed frequently or recharged. ruksak™’s two-way system rates go down with humidity, thus never drying as the traditional single-use system and with no additional janitorile.
Sustainability benefits
It is made from bamboo fibers, a biodegradable material, so it not only lowers impact versus non-biodegradable desiccant options like silica gel or calcium chloride-based ones – ruksak™.
Real-world usability
In the case study, the bags were opened multiple times during a 30-day period to mimic real-life usage. Despite the stress test, ruksak™ continued to run as before, showing very little degradation.
For those interested in exploring the potential of ruksak™ for their cannabis storage needs, we recommend visiting ATMOSIScience to learn more about their innovative solutions. By integrating ruksak™ into your storage practices, you can enhance product quality while contributing to a more sustainable future.