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What Is Dry Ice Cleaning?

A technologically advanced, environmentally responsible surface preparation and cleaning method for all industries, dry ice blasting, the CryoGenesis cleaning process utilizes dry ice (Solid (CO₂) which is formed into 3mm rice like pellets (Drice®) or blocks of dry ice which are ground into tiny particles the size of sugar crystals. These particles are then accelerated to supersonic speeds via a blasting unit and applied using a hand held or robotized blasting gun to the surface to be cleaned. Upon impact, the dry ice immediately turns from its solid state into carbon dioxide vapour expanding up to 540 times its volume. The energy produced by the conversion of solid to vapour is considerable and is responsible for much of the cleaning process. The vapour disappears back into the atmosphere, leaving only the removed contaminant itself for disposal. Unlike conventional blast cleaning methods: grit, sand, plastic media etc. Dry Ice blast cleaning is non-abrasive to the impacted surface.

Dry Ice blast cleaning works in 3 ways:

Kinetic Energy.

Kinetic energy is transferred from the dry ice media to the surface, chipping away at the contaminant and is then converted to heat producing sublimation - the process of turning from solid to vapour.

Thermal Differentials.

In some situations, the contaminant and substrate are rapidly cooled by the blast stream. Dry ice has a temperature of - 78.5°C. The two materials can often contract at different rates and so weakening the bond between the two materials. This is particularly noticeable where hard resins have been applied to metallic surfaces.

Reverse Fracturing.

As the Dry Ice media warms up, it is converted directly back into carbon dioxide vapour, expanding rapidly. This effect (sublimation) forces the contaminant from the underlying surface.