Dry Ice Blasting Services

The cleaning of industrial equipment is critical to improved performance and reduced maintenance costs. Dry ice blasting provides an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient solution for cleaning industrial equipment without extended downtime or damage to sensitive components. 

Also called CO2 blasting or dry ice cleaning, dry ice blasting is an industrial cleaning method which uses solid carbon dioxide in pellet form, projected by compressed air. Due to the force behind the compressed air, dry ice pellets accelerate through the blast hose at near supersonic speeds. As these pellets impact the target surface and convert into CO2 gas, which facilitates contamination removal caused by rapid gas expansion. 

As a dry process, dry ice blasting does not require downtime for components to dry. Dry ice blasting is non-abrasive, non-flammable, non-conductive, and does not release any harmful chemicals or secondary contaminants into the environment. This eliminates the need for waste disposal and allows for cleaning equipment in place, ultimately reducing labor, downtime, and overall cleaning costs. Dry ice blasting is approved by the EPA, USDA, and FDA as an industrial cleaning method.

Industries and Applications of Dry Ice Blasting

Dry ice blasting is an effective solution for removing unwanted contaminants and residues from the production process, such as:

• Oils
• Adhesives
• Resins
• Paints
• Greases
• Asphalt tars
• Biofilms

Due to its effectiveness, dry ice blasting a preferred method for cleaning equipment within a broad range of industries, including: 

• Aerospace. The aerospace sector relies on dry ice blasting to remove mastic from parts; clean turbine blades; remove labels from fuselage; and clean hydraulics, electrical components and circuitry, and landing gear.
• Automotive. Dry ice blasting is ideal for cleaning engine blocks and components, undercarriages, wheels and axles, automotive production equipment, and more.
• Baking and food processing. Bakeries and food production operations often use dry ice blasting to clean food waste and oils from ovens, bins, conveyors, belts, mixers, tubes, fans, seals, and production facility walls.
• Contaminant remediation. Dry ice blasting offers a reliable means for removing contaminants from production surfaces of all types. 
• Electrical equipment and power plants. Power generation operations often rely on dry ice blasting to clean oil, residue, and/or rust from turbines, generators, high voltage insulators, installations, cabinets, switchboards, and high power engines. Dry ice blasting is also used in nuclear decontamination and for resin removal in the production of transformers.
• Fire remediation. Dry ice blasting is frequently used to remove charring, ash, and other damage from otherwise usable building components after a fire.
• Foundries and metal production. Foundries use this process for cleaning molds and press equipment, stripping rust and paint, deburring, cleaning welding robots, residue removal, and more.
• Medical and pharmaceutical. Dry ice blasting is often used to maintain the stringent cleanliness standards associated with medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing. 
• Mold remediation. For applications that require sanitation, dry ice blasting offers an ideal solution for removing mold and mildew from substrates, walls, floors, and other surfaces.
• Pet food. Much like food production, pet food operations rely on dry ice blasting for cleaning production lines, storage tanks, packaging lines, adhesive and sealing equipment, mills, mixers, seals, floors and walls, and more.
• Plastics. Plastic molders use this method to remove residue and waste material from conveyor systems, mold and extruder equipment; resin removal; polyurethane removal; and deburring plastic parts.
• Printing. Dry ice blasting helps printers keep equipment clean, such as drums, grippers, rollers, side walls, ink trays, gears, print decks, guide escalators, delivery units, feeders, conveyors, gluers, and paper converting equipment.

Dry Ice Blasting Compared to Other Methods

There are many available methods for cleaning industrial equipment. Each method has advantages and drawbacks, and some are comparable to dry ice blasting in some areas while falling short in others. This is how other cleaning methods stack up against dry ice blasting:

• Abrasive blasting. Unlike dry ice blasting, abrasive blasting is highly toxic and dangerous for the operator. The operator must wear a protective suit with a self-contained breathing apparatus to avoid exposure to the fumes and dust created during blasting.
• Soda blasting. This is a variation of abrasive blasting with the same positive toxic, environmental and conductive qualities, but still abrasive and requiring waste disposal.
• Pressure washing. Like dry ice blasting, pressure washing is non-abrasive and not harmful to the environment due to emissions or toxins. In contrast, this method is electrically conductive and require wastewater disposal.
• Solvents/chemicals. Cleaning with chemicals and solvents is another common non-abrasive cleaning method with no electrical conductivity issues. However, the process involves toxic substances and extensive waste removal efforts. These methods also pose risks to the environment. 
• Hand tools. Hand tools are environmentally safe, don’t use toxic materials, require no special waste considerations, and are not electrically conductive. Abrasiveness is a major drawback of hand tools, as are additional labor requirements.

There are a variety of safety benefits included with dry ice blasting which might not be found using other industrial cleaning methods. The most prominent of these include:

• Elimination of toxic chemicals and emissions
• Reduction of cleaning solution waste material
• Prevention of surface degradation from abrasives

Dry Ice Blasting From Interstate Carbonic Enterprises

Interstate Carbonic Enterprises understands how dry ice blasting works, providing more than 30 years of dry ice blasting services in the Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana region. Our dry ice blasting services produce superior results and are quicker, safer, more versatile, and cost less when compared to other methods of industrial cleaning. 

Please contact us for more information about our dry ice blasting services.