Dry Ice Blast Cleaning Promotes Lean and Green Manufacturing

Before the dry ice blasting process came along, many people felt that finding a safe, cost-effective, efficient and user-friendly cleaning process was a challenge. Dry ice blast cleaning can reduce cleaning time by as much as 75 to 90 percent. Dry ice is also relatively inexpensive and easy to store. Because of the colorless, tasteless and odorless process it uses, it is also environmentally friendly.

Dry ice blast cleaning uses a dry ice, a solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is non-abrasive and can be used on both hard and delicate surfaces. Recycled CO2 in the form of solid dry ice particles run through a hose and high-velocity nozzle to create micro-explosions upon the surface to be cleaned. Because CO2 particles have a temperature of -105°F, the combination of the kinetic and thermal shock effects of dry ice blasting cleans the surface, blasting away residue. The dry ice particles vaporize into a gas upon impact.

This cleaning process has many advantages. Cleaning costs can be reduced because only one operator is needed to run a dry ice blast cleaning machine and can clean equipment significantly faster compared with a typical group of four people cleaning equipment by hand. Also, the process is a dry process that does not produce a byproduct such as sand or soda blasting. As a result, there is no secondary waste treatment and disposal, and companies can quickly get the equipment ready for additional production. And because the process is dry, there’s no downtime waiting for the cleaned part surface to dry.

To read more about dry ice blast cleaning, visit “Dry Ice Blast Cleaning—It’s a Portable and Safe Alternative.”

For information on using ice blasting for deburring, read “A Cool Deburring Technique.”

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