How does dry ice cleaning work?
Dry ice cleaning is based on exploitation of three main factors:
- kinetic energy
- thermal shock
- sublimation
Compressed air creates kinetic energy when speed of drift dry ice pellets before they hit the cleaning area, may exceed the speed of sound. Layer of dirt gets thermal shock after the impact of pellets at a temperature of -79 ° C. Pellets immediately sublimate after their penetration on cleaned surface. This kind of sublimation is caused by change of pellet state from solid state to gas one. It can be compared to a small explosion in which the volume of CO2 pellet expands to 800 times.Forces that are created during sublimation operate away from cleaned surface and perfectly remove contamination without harming the cleaning surface. Connection of all above mentioned forces and their proper regulation can achieve the best results.
Method of cleaning | Secondary waste | Electrically conductive | Abrasive | Toxic | Efficiency |
Dry Ice Blasting | No | No | No | No | Excellent |
Sand Blasting | Yes | No | Yes | * | Good |
Soda Blasting | Yes | No | Yes | * | Good |
Water Blasting | Yes | Yes | No | * | Good |
Solvents/Chemicals | Yes | — | No | Yes | Limited |
Power tools | No | — | Yes | — | Limited |
Hand tools | No | — | Yes | — | Limited |
* Traditional materials which are used for blasting can be contaminated when they are used for removal of hazardous substances or objects. These blasting materials are then also classified as toxic waste and must be dust off safely.