Dry ice media blasting is one of the most misunderstood blast media, but it can be examined in a similar fashion. Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. As such it is “minerally soft”, and non-damaging to most hard surfaces like stainless steel, and other metals. The shape of most dry ice particles is rather “blocky” due to the particles being comprised of 1.5 mm diameter pellets. So, while not overly dense, it can still be somewhat aggressive against many coatings, and layers of debris. Blasting of industrial equipment and production lines are prime examples of where dry ice really shines is in the area of friability. Upon striking a hard surface, dry ice is smashed into such tiny pieces that the increased surface area of those particles can no longer remain solid at room temperature. They immediately sublimate (turning from a solid to a gas with no liquid state) and “disappear” into the surrounding atmosphere. Most often, this is highly advantageous, with the blasting process leaving no secondary waste – no spent medium. This leaves only primary waste – the dirt or coating – to be cleaned up and disposed of. One interesting note with dry ice is its extremely cold temperature when solid: -109°F below zero. This is both a positive and a negative when using this blast medium.
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The process for dry ice media blasting
The Dry Ice Blasting process starts by using pellets made from Liquid Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and expanding it to produce a snow like substance. This is then compressed to make hard Dry Ice Pellets.
Dry Ice Pellets are then directed at a surface in order to be propelled at a supersonic speed via a compressed air gun. Upon impact, the dry ice creates a micro-thermal shock (caused by the extreme cold temperature of -79º C). The energy transfer vaporises the containment without abrasion and the force of this impact is the primary means of cleaning.
Dry Ice Pellets
