Dry ice blasting overview

Dry ice blasting

Dry ice blasting is a relatively new cleaning process using solid CO₂ pellets (known as dry ice). It is primarily used for industrial use in a variety of applications. The pellets sublimate (convert directly from a solid blast pellet to a vapour (CO₂) leaving no residue. The process is superior to sand blasting, glass bead blasting and other types of cleaning methods for numerous reasons (see chart below).

Today, the dry ice method of cleaning is quickly becoming favoured for environmental as well as production reasons. Because of tremendous environmental regulations, industry has needed to minimize wastes. Also, there is a growing consciousness that many are placing now on the global environmental impact of their production practices. However, these benefits are accentuated due to the tremendous performance gains through dry ice blasting -- little or no production downtime, quality of clean and minimized damaged to equipment.

What is dry ice

Dry ice pellets are made by taking liquid carbon dioxide (CO₂) from a pressurized storage tank and expanding it at ambient pressure to produce snow. The snow is then compressed through a die to make hard pellets.

What is dry ice blasting

It is a process in which dry ice particles are propelled to supersonic speed, to impact and clean a surface. The particles are accelerated by compressed air, just as with other blasting systems.

The micro-thermal shock (caused by the dry ice temperature of -79º C), the kinetic energy of dry ice pellets and the air pressure break the bond between the coating and the substrate. It pops off the coating from inside out and the air stream removes it from the surface.

Industries can utilize the dry ice blasting cleaning method through equipment that fires the pellets through a blasting gun. Upon impact the dry ice sublimates (vaporizes). There are many major benefits to this cleaning process. To read of them in detail, click here.

Dry ice blasting compared to traditional methods

The following two charts give a helpful perspective of how dry ice blasting compares with the traditional cleaning methods -- sand, blasting, solvents, and others.