How Dry Ice Blasting Cleaning Works
Dry ice blasting is extremely like traditional sand blasting, or soda blasting in that a media is accelerated in a pressurized air stream to impact the surface being cleaned. Also, dry ice blasting, the media is solid CO2 particles. In addition, one unique characteristic of using dry ice particles as a blast media is that the particles vaporize upon impact with the surface being cleaned. Because of this, dry ice blasting cleaning is one of the best cleaning solutions available.
However, the combined impact-energy dissipation and extremely rapid heat transfer between the dry ice pellet and the surface causes the instantaneous sublimation of the solid CO2/dry ice into gas. In addition, the gas then expands to nearly 800 times the volume of the dry ice pellet in a few milliseconds in what is effectively a “micro-explosion” at the point of impact. However, because of the solid CO2 vaporizing, the dry ice blasting process does not generate any secondary waste. All that remains to be collected is the contaminant being removed.
Unlike other blast media, the CO2/dry ice particles have a very low temperature of -109° F (-78.3°C). Because of the temperature differential between the dry ice particles and the surface being treated, a process known as “fracking” or thermal shock can occur. However, as a material’s temperature decreases, the material becomes embrittled, enabling the particle impact to break up the coating.

Dry Ice Blasting Cleaning Applications
Many companies that considering having dry ice blasting use for their cleaning process are concerned with the effect the thermal shock will have on the parent metal. Also, many studies have shown that the temperature decrease occurs on the surface only, so there is no chance of thermal stress occurring in the surface being cleaned. Above all, unlike many other cleaning processes, dry ice blasting requires less downtime, make far less mess, and is often the best option for many different types of industrial cleaning applications. Commonly cleaned areas by dry ice blasting are:
- Automotive
- Contract Cleaning
- Food & Beverage
- Plastics & Composites
- Adhesive Removal
- General Equipment Cleaning
- Mold Cleaning
- Surface Preparation
- Mold Redemption
Main Benefits of Using Dry Ice Blast Cleaning
- No Water, Grit, or Chemicals
- Non-Conducive (safe around electrical connections)
- Reduces downtime
- Cleaning with minimal disassembly
- Ecologically friendly
- Saves money, time, labor, and materials
- No exposure to corrosive solvents
- Eliminates secondary waste
- Cleans without etching or damaging surfaces
- NO damage to sensitive machinery
- NO drying time
In Conclusion
Above all, Strength H2O Industrial Solutions is one of the top-rated Dry Ice Blasting companies in the United States. Also, our dry ice blasting cleaning experts are able to complete projects of any size and can create a custom dry ice blasting cleaning plan tailored to your company’s specific needs. Finally, contact Strength H2O Industrial Solutions today for your free quote! Call (734) 544-5200 Email: info@industrialcleaningpros.com or visit website https://www.industrialcleaningpros.com
