Dry Ice Blast Cleaning
How Does it Work?
Cleaning with dry ice? I had never heard of this concept, until I saw a truck with advertising on it. This article looks at dry ice blast cleaning and what it can accomplish. This new form of cleaning is rapidly becoming a popular way to clean around the world. It is an excellent form of commercial cleaning.
Process
The system uses rice size pellets of dry ice, shooting them out of a air compressed nozzle. It works very similar to sand blasting and water blasting. The results are far superior to those two methods.
Dry ice is about a minus 109 degrees F. This frigid temperature causes materials to shrink and loosen. It evens works on adhesives that holds things on to it's surface. When some of the dry ice penetrates through the material, it comes into contact with the underlying surface. The warmer dry surface causes the dry ice to convert back to carbon dioxide gas. This gas has up to 800 times more volume and increases the speeding up of material removal. This process is excellent for the removal of paint, tar, decals, soot, oil, ink, resins and various adhesives. Only the material left over is cleaned up. The dry ice dissipates. This makes for an easier clean up.
Why is it better?
Unlike sandblasting and water blasting, it maintains the integrity of the surface it is cleaning. It doesn't erode or wear away the targeted surfaces. It is also easier on the equipment used. Sandblasting can easily damage the equipment being used for the job.
When it comes to the difference in water or steam blasting, electrical parts and generators can be put back to work quicker. Mildew and mold are removed easier and there is less chance of it increasing. Radioactive containment can be in smaller containers. This cuts down on extra large amounts of radioactive waste. You might remember that dry ice was used recently in Japan to contain radioactive material from the reactors damaged by the earthquake. You also save on water usage.
Finally, it is excellent on ships and boats for removing algae, mussels and sea slime. Water blasting lets organic matter attach sooner to the boat hulls. Dry ice holds it off longer.
You also do not need cleaning chemicals and solvent for cleaning. These chemicals can be harmful to all life forms. With dry ice blast cleaning, you don't need them.
It is excellent for fire clean up. Besides removing soot, it also removes the burnt smell. This allows for a quicker clean up of fire damaged buildings.
Disadvantages
There is a lot of noise from this process. Preventive measures for hearing problems need to be taken. Effective cleaning can be in a straight line, so adjustments need to be made with equipment. Like any tool, proper use is very important to maintain safety. You can't have any horseplay with this type of equipment.
sources; Dryiceinfo.com
Process
The system uses rice size pellets of dry ice, shooting them out of a air compressed nozzle. It works very similar to sand blasting and water blasting. The results are far superior to those two methods.
Dry ice is about a minus 109 degrees F. This frigid temperature causes materials to shrink and loosen. It evens works on adhesives that holds things on to it's surface. When some of the dry ice penetrates through the material, it comes into contact with the underlying surface. The warmer dry surface causes the dry ice to convert back to carbon dioxide gas. This gas has up to 800 times more volume and increases the speeding up of material removal. This process is excellent for the removal of paint, tar, decals, soot, oil, ink, resins and various adhesives. Only the material left over is cleaned up. The dry ice dissipates. This makes for an easier clean up.
Why is it better?
Unlike sandblasting and water blasting, it maintains the integrity of the surface it is cleaning. It doesn't erode or wear away the targeted surfaces. It is also easier on the equipment used. Sandblasting can easily damage the equipment being used for the job.
When it comes to the difference in water or steam blasting, electrical parts and generators can be put back to work quicker. Mildew and mold are removed easier and there is less chance of it increasing. Radioactive containment can be in smaller containers. This cuts down on extra large amounts of radioactive waste. You might remember that dry ice was used recently in Japan to contain radioactive material from the reactors damaged by the earthquake. You also save on water usage.
Finally, it is excellent on ships and boats for removing algae, mussels and sea slime. Water blasting lets organic matter attach sooner to the boat hulls. Dry ice holds it off longer.
You also do not need cleaning chemicals and solvent for cleaning. These chemicals can be harmful to all life forms. With dry ice blast cleaning, you don't need them.
It is excellent for fire clean up. Besides removing soot, it also removes the burnt smell. This allows for a quicker clean up of fire damaged buildings.
Disadvantages
There is a lot of noise from this process. Preventive measures for hearing problems need to be taken. Effective cleaning can be in a straight line, so adjustments need to be made with equipment. Like any tool, proper use is very important to maintain safety. You can't have any horseplay with this type of equipment.
sources; Dryiceinfo.com
Published by Bill Hanks
Just an average Joe living in the Midwest. I am a retired High School teacher/coach. I work part time for a small college. I am president of our local Kiwanis club. I am also a city alderman. But, most of... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentGreat article with interesting facts!
Interesting read.
Who would have thought?
Never heard of this, very interesting process, thanks for sharing!
Interesting! Great article =0)
That is very interesting.
Very interesting, great topic... :o)
This was very interesting. I had never heard of dry ice blasting as a cleaning process. I can think of lots of ways to use something like this.