Dry ice blasting is a
new and effective industrial cleaning process. It uses dry ice pellets
under extreme pressure to blast surfaces clean. Dry ice blasting
can replace sandblasting, steam or water blasting, and using harmful
solvents. This safe, yet powerful cleaning method is fast becoming
the new way to clean in many industrial settings.
What
Is Dry Ice?
Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 is usually found as
a gas -- it's what we exhale. To make dry ice, CO2 is compressed,
and it liquefies at a pressure of approximately 870 pounds per square
inch. The dry ice press then reduces the pressure, and part of the
liquid CO2 sublimates (meaning it turns from a solid into a gas).
The remaining liquid freezes into flakes that are compacted into
solid blocks. The resulting dry ice is denser, heavier, and colder
than ice made from water.
How
Does Dry Ice Blasting Work?
Dry
ice blasting technology shoots small pellets of dry ice from a high-pressure
nozzle with compressed air. It works somewhat like sandblasting
or high-pressure water or steam blasting, but with superior results.
Because the temperature of dry ice is so cold (-109.3°F), the
blasting process causes the material to be removed to shrink and
loose adhesion from the machinery surface it has attached to.
Dry
ice blasting is not only efficient, it is also enviornmentally friendly.
Once the dry ice comes in contact with
the warmer surface, the dry ice to converts back into carbon dioxide
gas (vaporizes into the atmosphere) and is completely safe for the
environment.
Dry ice
blasting also causes less wear and tear on the surfaces it cleans
as compared to other industrial cleaning methods. Because the dry
ice pellets are softer and not as abrasive as other means, it does
not damage, wear away, or pit the surfaces it cleans.
Paint,
oil, grease, asphalt, tar, decals, soot, dirt, ink, resins, and
adhesives are some of the materials that can be removed by dry ice
blasting.
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