What are the benefits of dry ice blasting?
Dry ice blasting is an industrial cleaning technique free of all chemicals, water, and abrasive products such as those used in sandblasting or micro abrasive blasting.
Indeed, this process uses dry ice as a cleaning agent: it is carbon dioxide (CO2) in solid form, possessing certain characteristics that, in terms of benefits, make dry ice blasting the ultimate cleaning method.
Discover the advantages of dry ice blasting below.
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An Innovative Cleaning Technology
Dry ice blasting uses dry ice pellets to remove contaminants without secondary residues.
Eco-Friendly Technology
Reduces the carbon footprint by using non-toxic, recyclable materials.
Precision Cleaning
Makes it possible to reach hard-to-access areas with surgical precision.
Versatile Applications
Suitable for a wide range of sectors, from the food industry to automotive.
First, a few explanations...
Dry ice blasting: how does it work?
The cryogenic cleaning technique is based on the projection of dry ice pellets onto the surfaces to be cleaned.
The projection medium is compressed air (industrial pressurized air or thermal compressor air). To do this, an ATX type blaster is used, equipped with a blast hose, a blast gun, and a supersonic spray nozzle.
Loaded with kinetic energy, the dry ice pellets hit the pollution or contaminant, causing a de-cohesion of the pollution from the surface through:
- A mechanical shock (the pellets are loaded with kinetic energy),
- A thermal shock (or thermal differential) and...,
- The sublimation or the transition of dry ice from a solid to a gaseous state in a ratio of 1 to 700: the dirt is then instantly detached from the substrate.
For more explanations on the dry ice blasting process, click on the "Explanations of dry ice blasting" link at the bottom of the page.
More details on the dry ice cleaning technique on the page base. Click on the link Explanations of dry ice blasting
Let's compare cleanliness techniques
Traditional industrial cleaning involves the almost systematic dismantling of the machines to be treated. The cleaning of the parts is then carried out in a dedicated area.
Traditional methods are also limited when machines cannot be moved or other clean-up techniques would result in more cleaning and downtime.
As indicated above, dry ice blasting offers many advantages compared to other traditional cleaning methods.
Let's see which ones...
Dry ice blasting: a dry cleaning process
Cleaning techniques using water as a cleaning medium, such as high-pressure cleaning, generate moisture in the treated area and require drying time for the parts before they can be reinstalled.
Water cleaning can also cause rust, damaging metal parts, or promote the growth of bacteria such as Salmonella (or salmonella), Listeria, and Escherichia coli.
Since dry ice is carbon dioxide in solid form, cryogenic cleaning has the advantage of being a dry cleaning technique and "bacteriostatic" against the bacteria mentioned above, due to its extreme temperature, which inhibits their growth. The temperature of dry ice is -80 °C.
This is why, today, many food or pharmaceutical companies are equipping themselves with dry ice blasting machines such as the ATX25 or ATX Nano, thus eliminating cross-contamination.
A quick reminder:
The medium used is dry ice, which transitions from a solid to a gaseous state without an intermediate liquid phase.
Dry ice blasting prevents the proliferation of the bacteria mentioned above, mold, and the appearance of rust on metal surfaces.
Dry ice blasting operation on an escalator.
High-pressure cleaning is impossible on this
type of configuration...
Cleaning with no chemicals
Chemical-using cleaning methods can not only damage parts of treated machines, but can also pose a serious danger to operators as well as theenvironment.
In addition, the use of large quantities of chemicals, involves a reprocessing of waste.
Free of any chemical products, dry ice blasting:
- poses no danger to users,
- does not leave any type of residue, thus saving the additional cost of disposal of secondary waste, but above all,
- is by far the most environmentally friendly technique: dry ice sublimes upon contact with the surface to be cleaned, thus returning to its gaseous form or CO₂,
- does not require a chemical that impacts the ozone layer during its manufacture,
- does not generate bad odours,unlike the use of solvents...
With dry ice blasting, even heavily soiled surfaces
do not require chemicals such as solvents...
Increased productivity and profitability!
Traditional cleaning methods, in the vast majority of cases, involve stopping machines or manufacturing processes, disassembling, possibly letting parts dry, then reassembling the parts after cleaning.
It goes without saying that traditional cleanliness techniques are time-consuming...
Ideally, the re-cleaning phase should be fast, generate little residue, and require little or no dismantling...
Well, the time and money savings with dry ice blasting are enormous!
Indeed, the advantage of dry ice blasting lies, among other things, in the fact that it is not necessary to "disassemble" and "reassemble." Rooms can be cleaned on site without additional downtime.
The traditional technique involves dismantling over 2 days, sending the 2 chains to another site for cleaning and "re-greasing" for 3 days, then returning to the customer's site and reassembling over 2 days. That is a total production stoppage 7 days,at a cleaning cost of 30,000 euros ,not counting the costs associated with production shutdowns.
The dry ice blasting process, with 2 Cryoblaster ATX80 and ATX25 cleaning units, allows for the degreasing of chains on-site, without disassembly, in just 2 1/2 days, representing 4 1/2 fewer days of production downtime.
Cryogenics cleaning is 2 to 8 times faster than traditional methods. So the process is very fast.
Cryogenic cleaning of food-industry chains:
2 1/2 days versus 7 days with the traditional method...
Dry ice blasting is certainly cleaning at high speed!
A little reminder :
As dry ice blasting is a dry process, there is no need to wipe or dry the treated surfaces: a significant time saver. Thanks to various types of nozzles, the cleaning is much more "thorough" and allows for cleaning in every nook and cranny. As a result, the equipment works more efficiently and potential leaks (hydraulics, for example) are revealed.
A technique that ensures the sustainability of production tools
Since dry ice is dry, it does not promote corrosion of metal surfaces.
This technique can therefore be used to clean live electrical equipment, provided there is no risk of causing electrocution through direct contact.
Important: cleaning live electrical cabinets requires an HnBn authorization. Make sure the operator has completed this type of training. Otherwise, in the event of an accident, you could be held liable.
Cleaning de-energized and locked-out electrical cabinets requires H0B0 authorization.
Furthermore, the hardness of dry ice is comparable to that of chalk and therefore does not scratch the treated parts, unlike certain tools such as spatulas, scrapers, or scouring sponges: industrial dry ice blasting increases the lifespan of the working equipment by minimizing wear and keeping machines in good working order. The process is non-abrasive.
Among the many advantages of dry ice blasting, the gentleness of the treatment is highly valued: dry ice is much less dense than sand and, above all, sublimes (transitioning from a solid to a gaseous state in a ratio of 1 to 400) upon contact with the surface to be treated.
Important: to ensure the feasibility of a dry ice blasting project on a surface you are not used to treating (wood, plastic, etc.), always start at low pressure and adapt the ice grain size and nozzle type to the contaminant, the substrate, and the desired result.
Some tools or accessories can damage
treated surfaces...
The hardness of dry ice is only 2 Mohs,
which is the hardness of chalk.
Cryogenic treatment is non-abrasive.
In summary, the advantages of dry ice blasting are:
- A safe industrial cleaning process for operators, machines, the environment: no chemicals (no solvents, no detergent, no abrasives).
- A technique that does not contribute to the increase of greenhouse gases (provided the compressed air is of electrical origin). Dry ice is made from recycled CO₂, which is finally given a second useful life.
- A dry, non-abrasive, non-conductive cleaning technique using a non-flammable media, 2 to 8 times faster than traditional techniques, due to the fact that it does not systematically require disassembly to clean the surfaces.
Other articles on the same theme...
Advantage No. 1 - Dry ice blasting: a dry cleaning process!
Discover in the following article, dry ice blasting, a non-moist process, the 3 main reasons to abandon water as a cleaning agent in industrial cleaning operations.
Advantage No. 2 - Dry ice blasting: cleaning with no chemicals
Among the many benefits of carboglace spray cleaning, the absence of solvents, acid, ammonia... make this process a cleanliness technique that respects the health of users and the environment. Check out the article: cryogenics cleaning, cleaning without chemistry,all the many benefits that flow from the absence of detergents.
Advantage No. 3 - Dry ice blasting: non-abrasive cleaning
The fact that the hardness of dry ice is very different from the media used in sandblasting and micro abrasive blasting techniques makes dry ice blasting a non-abrasive technique. Find out in this article, everything that makes cryogenics cleaning a surface-friendly technique
Advantage No. 4 - Dry ice blasting reduces production downtime
Discover in this article cryogenic cleaning increases your productivity,how the projection of dry ice allows to optimize the cleaning of your processes in record time!
Frequently asked questions about dry ice blasting
No, dry ice blasting is a non-abrasive method. Unlike sandblasting, dry ice pellets sublime instantly upon impact, removing pollution without creating mechanical wear or altering the substrate.
It reduces production downtime by 50% to 80%. Since the process is dry and residue-free, it allows cleaning directly on the machine, without prior disassembly or a drying phase.
It is a sustainable cleaning solution: it uses no chemical solvents, generates no secondary waste (only the dirt needs to be collected), and uses recycled industrial CO2.
Absolutely. Dry ice is non-conductive and completely dry. It is the ideal solution for decontaminating electrical cabinets, PLCs, or motors without the risk of a short circuit.
The main difference is the absence of residual media. Where sandblasting leaves sand or beads everywhere, cryogenic cleaning disappears into the air, preventing abrasives from infiltrating sensitive areas.