THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE DIRTY ON DRY ICE BLASTING

Dry Ice Blasting?
Many people ask, “Why dry ice blasting instead of more traditional types of cleaning?” There are advantages to dry ice blasting and  some disadvantages too. I will go through and simplify each.

The Bad

So let's just get the bad out of the way first. The list is much shorter and you will see why. Dry ice blasting comes with an initial sticker shock to most. This is because plant managers and finance teams only see the ice blasting costs. It is important to compare your total cost of using other methods to the cost of ice blasting. The cost of chemical agents, man power, additional safety precautions, OSHA fines for compliance failure and injuries, increased employee liability risks, prep times, equipment restoration / rebuild times, AND TOTAL DOWN TIME FRAMES.

The next issue is ice blasters are not abundant and readily available in every area. Many projects require mobilization. Dry ice blasters are not typically city centric, but will mobilize. 

The third is dry ice blasting pellets availability. Dry ice blasting, with any contracting, requires planning and scheduling. There is a 2 business notice for ordering dry ice blasting pellets. Nothing detrimental, or out of the ordinary compared to any project. We all have to order materials and prepare to do a job. Again, this isn't terrible; just something to be aware of when searching for a dry ice blasting contractor.

Last - Rent it and do it yourself - well, you can. You can also rent a jack hammer and a bulldozer. Much like a large at home do-it-yourself project, it is always worth paying a reputable and insured contractor with ratings, reviews, and experience. The compressed air must be filtered and after-cooled; not readily available just anywhere. Compressor rental companies have to specialize in offering these units. The dry ice is - 109*. It is extremely sensitive to any amount of moisture coming through the air lines into the machine. This moisture can cause a true H2O ice block where the dry ice is fed through. That can cause a shut down from 3 to 6 hours depending upon the severity and amount of water let in. Dry ice blasting machines do not have trouble shooting codes or lighting. It is either on and working, or not. It is one of three things; 1. air issues, 2/ electrical / circuit issue, or 3. dry ice issue in the unit, in the feed, clog in the blasting hose, or at the gun.  Which one is it and where is the question.

The Good
It is amazing how it cleans a piece of equipment. Multiple industries are moving to dry ice for cleaning. One ice blaster can often do in one hour what takes a 4 man crew 4 hours (applications & debris levels can vary). So imagine a 4 man crew manually cleaning that takes 4 days. That is 4 days of shut down and lost production in addition to all of the risk, time, a designated safety officer, additional daily safety meetings, and the cost factors listed before. One ice blaster can typically do that same job in one 8 hour day. So all of the sudden, ice blasting is no longer so expensive when you have 3 days of production returned to you. Production = money! The same is true in fire and mold remediation. The job can take 3 days less, returning the home owner back to their normal life that much sooner. 

Dry ice blasting is well known for quality restoration to production equipment. Regular cleaning adds to the life of any equipment. It reduces the level of friction and resistance during operation. These are hidden reductions in costs.

There is no physical remaining by-product of dry ice cleaning. Previous cleaning with water, chemicals, soda, and sand blasting would create a big mess to clean up afterwards. This is not true with dry ice blasting. Upon the dry ice impact to the surface, dry ice immediately supplements in to a gas, leaving no additional by-product cleanup. Once again, returning to production that much sooner.

With the world becoming more environmentally conscious, dry ice blasting has a huge advantage. Dry ice is  made from CO2 gas. Dry ice is a recycled material to begin with. The waste cleanup from a cleaning job is minimal. Because dry ice turns directly in to a gas, it does not need cleanup. The only cleanup needed is for the waste/debris that get blasted off while cleaning. Imagine having to pay for chemical waste disposal after cleaning. In many plant cases, every chemical brought into the plant by contractor, or direct deliver has to be registered with the safety officer on site. This comes with hazard coding, as well as safety response protocols in case of spills, protocols for if the agent comes into contact with the skin, eyes, or is inhaled. Add another protocol for combustible chemicals (almost all cleaning chemical agents!). 

A few simple letters every safety officer has to live by... OSHA. Here is an exert from the OSHA Fact Sheet document  titled, "Protecting Workers from the Hazards of Abrasive Blasting Materials"

https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3697.pdf

Commonly used abrasive materials: •

•  Silica sand (crystalline) 
•  Coal slag 
•  Garnet sand 
•  Nickel slag 
•  Copper slag 
•  Glass (beads or crushed) 
•  Steel shot 
•  Steel grit 
•  Specular hematite (iron ore) 

Alternative, less toxic blasting materials include:

•  Dry ice

The first recommendation is dry ice. It is easy to see why companies are moving away from the traditional cleaning.

Now here is what the same document also says about health hazards -

Health Hazards Abrasive blasting operations can create high levels of dust and noise. Abrasive material and the surface being blasted may contain toxic materials (e.g., lead paint, silica) that are hazardous to workers.

• Silica sand (crystalline) can cause silicosis, lung cancer, and breathing problems in exposed workers
• Coal slag and garnet sand may cause lung damage similar to silica sand (based on preliminary animal testing)
• Copper slag, nickel slag, and glass (crushed or beads) also have the potential to cause lung damage
• Steel grit and shot have less potential to cause lung damage
• Slags can contain trace amounts of toxic metals such as arsenic, beryllium, and cadmium.

That is a pretty dark list. It is like the side effects portion of a drug commercial, BUT nothing to address the health hazards of dry ice. Now let's not be fooled. Dry ice blasting must have proper ventilation to avoid asphyxiation. Dry ice is CO2 in solid form and upon impact from blasting returns to it's natural gas state. 

As with any blasting environment, PPE is to be worn at all times to include, but not limited to eye and hearing protection.

Dry ice blasting is non abrasive. Simply, this means that dry ice blasting will not damage most of your equipment or surfaces like sand or chemicals would. When a dry ice pellet hits a surface, it sublimates in to a gas. The process has zero impact to most equipment itself. It is however very effective for removing debris, adhesives, build up, coatings,film, grease, oil, and other production created layers.

Dry ice blasting is non-conducting, so it is ideal around robotics and most other electrical equipment. Just like standard equipment, electronics need to be cleaned. Fragmenting nozzles control the size of the dry ice pellet and it can be dialed down to basically snow texture. Water and sand blasting on electrons are not a good solution and can result in damage to the equipment. Both also can conduct electricity and pose shock hazards. Dry ice blasting is a great solution for that. The pressured air for dry ice blasting is after-cooled and filtered, so no water is getting to the equipment blasted.

For more insight on dry ice blasting go to http://www.iaqm.com/industrial-cleaning/

Call (972) 564-0477 for questions and scheduling