Dry Ice Blasting: What is it?

10/1/2021 (Permalink)

Dry Ice Blasting is a revolutionary blasting method that uses dry ice pellets (CO2 in solid form) as the blasting material. The process is very environmentally friendly and provides a fast and effective alternative to traditional methods of cleaning industrial production equipment. 

Dry Ice Blasting is a 3 step process:

1. Kinetic - When dry ice pellets are accelerated in a jet of compressed air and strike a surface at the speed of sound, they crack and loosen the coating of the surface being treated.

2. Thermal - The low temperature of dry ice pellets (-79 degrees C/-110 degrees F) makes coating brittle, cracks it and loosens it. This allows dry ice to permeate the coating.

3. Sublimation - Dry ice penetrates the coating and immediately sublimes (passes directly from solid to vapor state). This results in a 700-fold increase in volume, an explosive effect that lifts the coating off the surface. 

The Benefits of Dry Blasting:

1. A dry cleaning process - Dry ice blasting is a completely dry process because dry ice pellets consists of CO2 and vaporize immediately on contact with the surface to be cleaned.

2. No waste disposal - The system produces no waste products. Only the coating that has been removed remains to be disposed of, and this can usually be swept or vacuumed from the floor. 

3. Environmentally friendly - Dry ice blasting is completely non-toxic and no hazardous chemicals are used. Costs connected with the disposal of blasting materials and solvents are saved.

4. No abrasion - Dry ice blasting is non-abrasive and therefore surfaces are treated  very gently. Wear and tear resulting from the use of steel brushes, scrapers and other blasting materials is avoided. 

5. Improved production quality - Dry ice blasting often allows for your production equipment to be cleaned while in operation without the need for dismantling or costly downtime.