Everyone has certainly heard the term dry ice and associates it with a discotheque. There, dry ice is needed for the production of artificial fog. But a new exciting technology is cleaning with dry ice. This technology is now so advanced that there are already dry ice blasting machines. But what is dry ice, and how do you clean with it? Is it harmful to the environment and what can be cleaned?

What actually is dry ice?

Dry ice is nothing more than CO2, which is in a solidified state. CO2 is an odorless and non-toxic gas, which is also used in the beverage industry, for example. It is also used for cooling sausage and meat.

Dry ice blasting

This revolutionary blasting process uses dry ice pellets instead of sand, water or glass. This process does not leave any residue, as is usually the case with sand blasting. The removed coating is the only thing that remains after blasting and can be swept away or vacuumed up. This process is dry and currentless, which makes it possible to use it in electric circuits and on electric motors.

The process

In dry ice blasting, dry ice pellets are accelerated by compressed air to such an extent that they then hit the surface to be cleaned at high speed. Three different circumstances contribute to the cleaning. There is the kinetic effect, whereby the coating is loosened and bursts apart when the pellets hit it. The second effect is thermal. The low temperature causes the lining to become brittle, which leads to cracking. This lowers the bond of the pavement to the underlying surface and contributes to the detachment. The third effect is the explosion effect. As the dry ice penetrates through the coating, it evaporates very quickly. This causes the volume of the pellets to expand by a factor of 700 in a flash, which is equivalent to a small explosion. As a result, the coating is lifted off and is very easy to remove.

What happens to the blasted coating?

This question is easy to answer. Due to the fact that it is a dry blasting process, you can simply sweep or vacuum up the small pieces when finished. Oils or greases are blown away by the air stream, leaving a dry surface.

Is this process more economical?

This question is easily answered. Since this revolutionary process avoids long downtimes of machines or machine parts, this process is more economical than sandblasting or similar processes. It also eliminates the cost of disposing of solvents and the blasting material used. In addition, labor costs for cleaning and maintenance can be drastically reduced.

The bottom line

Dry ice blasting is an exciting technology that is just getting started. Looking to the future, it will continue to be developed and will replace the other processes, which are very expensive to operate, dispose of and clean.

For more information: https://white-lion.eu/en/dry-ice-devices/

Source:
edojob – stock.adobe.com