Dry ice pressure cleaning is a blast cleaning method utilizing dry ice as the blast material that is superior to water blasting in almost all applications.
The process uses a combination of 3 energy sources to deliver its unique results. The process is controlled by a dry ice accelerator which acts as a hopper for blast media as well as controlling ice feed rate and blast pressure.
- Kinetic Energy:
The dry ice pellets are accelerated in a jet of compressed air similar to that used in traditional blasting methods generally known as kinetic energy. - Thermal Differential:
When the dry ice pellets impact with contaminates, a small thermal differential is established between the contaminant and the substrate which assists to break the bond - Sublimation & Molecular Expansion:
As the dry ice impacts the surface being cleaned the pellets instantaneously turns form a solid back into its normal gaseous state. Dry ice is made from compressed carbon dioxide. The rapid expansion of the dry ice removes the contaminant. This is known as molecular expansion.