This paper describes a single-step approach to synthesize a nanostructured desiccant essentially consisting of a biopolymer template, metal oxyhydroxide and a lyophilic metal salt at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (30 +/- 3 degrees C). The unprecedented ability of the granular desiccant composite to dehumidify air is demonstrated. The composite was characterized in detail with the help of various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. XRD, ATR-IR and XPS data proved the existence of CaCl2 and nanoscale gamma-AIOOH in the composite. FESEM and EDX analyses revealed the formation of the composite with bundled firewood like nanoarchitecture. The composite showed exceptional ability to dehumidify air and the capacity (>2.0 g/g) was found to be 5-7 times better than that of commercial silica gel. The solid composite is robust and has the desirable qualities of an ideal desiccant including improved adsorption capacity, low regeneration temperature and eco-friendly nature. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.