Dry Ice Blasting..... Options

[john111]

Hi everyone. I am an engineering student. I read something called dry ice blasting and hazardous waste disposal while browsing net. Well I don’t know why, but I am curious to know about it. I know about traditional labor intensive methods like scrapers, wire brushes, sand blasting and pressure washing. I know dry ice is basically solid form of CO2, but I have no clue about this dry ice blasting and industrial cleaning .
Can somebody throw some light on this or at least suggest some site where I can find some info on this.

Sam

[roadster fan]

The info below is from the link in your signature. Pretty much covers the basics. I don't know anyone who has used this process but it looks interesting.

"Dry Ice Blasting (also known as CO2 blasting) uses compressed air to blast frozen CO2 pellets to a super sonic high velocity. A compressed air supply or 80 PSI/50 SCFM is utilized in the process.

HOW DOES DRY ICE BLASTING WORK?

Dry Ice Blasting works because it introduces thermal shock to the surface needing to be cleaned. The reaction is called Instantaneous Sublimation. In simpler terms, it is the phase change from a solid state to a gaseous state of the CO2 pellet upon impact. When the CO2 pellet impacts the surface being cleaned, the ambient "heat" from the surface rapidly transfers to the evaporating CO2 pellet, thus causing a separation between the layer of contaminent and the existing surface. The contaminent is then blown from the surface and captured for disposal. The major benefit to Dry Ice Blasting is the fact that NO WATER or HARSH CHEMICALS are used in the cleaning process, so you have no additional waste being generated.

Dry Ice Blasting is commonly used in just about any type of industry that has equipment that needs to be cleaned including Power Plants, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Automotive, Marine and many more. The Dry Ice Blasting is safe enough on surfaces that it can also be used to remove mold and smoke damage from residences! Additionally, the Dry Ice Blasting process is approved for use by the FDA on Food and Beverage Equipment. "

Jim