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CRYOCLEAN® Dry Ice Blasting |
| CRYOCLEAN® dry-ice blasting process has revolutionised industrial cleaning. Mobile blasting units provide an effective way of removing contaminant deposits (such as dirt, oil, wax, grease, rubber, plastics and paint) that stick to walls, equipment or other surfaces during production.
Advantages of CRYOCLEAN®
- No cleaning agent residues, wastewater or solvents
- Non-abrasive cleaning agent
- Cleaning possible during production
- Reduced downtime
- Cleaning in undercuts and inside pipes
Process description
Dry-ice blasting resemble sand blasting. Dry-ice pellets (about the size of grains of rice) are fed from a blasting unit’s storage tank into a stream of compressed air and accelerated through a blasting nozzle to almost sonic speed. Emerging at a temperature of -78°C, the dry ice cools the cleaning surface and renders the deposit brittle. The kinetic energy of pellets striking the surface causes an explosive, residue-free transition of the pellets directly to the gaseous state (sublimation). The bonding of the deposit to the substrate is loosened by thermal stresses and can be gently removed without the use of cleaning agents.
A solid gas
Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2). Similar in appearance to regular ice (frozen water), it is about as hard as plaster and, under atmospheric pressure, sublimates at a temperature of –78°C.
Cleaning power without electricity
We offer a broad range of tried-and-tested pneumatic dry-ice blasting machines. These machines are compact, powerful and reliable.
Our blasting machines do not require electrical power. Their compact dimensions make them easy to handle. They can be stored close to the workplace.
Operation could not be more straightforward. Connect the compressed-air supply, fill the hopper with dry-ice pellets and press the button to start blasting. The blasting pressure is adjusted on a simple control panel. For optimum results, the blaster air supply should be dry, clean and of sufficient pressure and capacity.
Flexible delivery of pellets
We have a far-reaching network of production facilities all over Europe that deliver dry ice. A number of specialised service companies offers dry-ice cleaning services.
Cleaning applications
The numerous advantages of CROCLEAN® can be applied to a broad variety of cleaning jobs across numerous industrial applications.
| Cloth belts | Various deposits |
| Escalators | Street dirt or chewing gum |
| Extruders | Toner, food and glues |
| Food-processing machines | Food deposits |
| Moulds | Rubber |
| Ovens | Baking deposits and fats |
Paper belts
| Various deposits |
| PCBs | Solder flux residue |
| Photocopiers | Paints and inks |
| Printing presses | Inks, grease and paper |
| Promotional signs, trucks and billboard | Stickers, glues |
| Public buildings, facades | Fire deposits, environmental dirt, chewing gum |
| Storage tanks | Spillage, bitumen |
| Streets and pavements | Chewing gum, weeds |
| Transport systems | Various (food, fat, glue) residues |
| Turbine blades | Residues, anticorrosive coatings |
| Valves and fittings | Dirt, grease, paint,nuclear materials etc |
| Welded joints | Welding deposits (no tarnish) |
Printing and related industries
The CRYOCLEAN® process is a quick and effective solution for removing inks and grease from the equipment listed below. Solvents and scraping knives need no longer to be used.
- (Rotating) offset printing presses
- Copier manufacturing equipment (colouring agents)
- Toner-extruder rolls
- Crown cork ovens
- Matrices, moulds
- Finishing machines
- Paper production machines
Food industry
Dry-ice cleaning is the ideal solution when a product is sensitive to water so that standard cleaning solutions are impractical. Typical applications are processing equipment for bread, dairy products, confectionery, meat and fish.
Our blasting systems support HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) guidelines by removing bacteria from the following type of equipment quickly and without the use of liquids.
- Bread and pastry processing equipment
- Chocolate moulds
- Fat-processing plants
- Conveyor belts
- Mixers
- Fermentation plants
For further information, please see
 Pharma & Food International (2000). Blast cleaning with dry ice. (PDF 348 KB)
Industrial cleaning
The manufacturing processes for glue, bitumen, paint and electronic components can leave heavy deposits in storage tanks and on valves, pumps and floors. Conventional cleaning methods are often too time-consuming.
Our dry-ice cleaning systems generate significant cost savings in-line as well as during maintenance and cleaning. They are ideally suited to the following type of equipment:
- Compressor turbine blades
- Valves, pumps and fittings
- Ventilation ducts and flues
- Welding robots
- Paint manufacturing machines
- Packaging machines
As an example, please see
Re Journal International (1997). When everything sticks together. (PDF, 637.1Kb)
Foam, plastics and rubber industries
From whole building facades down to tiny O-rings and foam articles, dry-ice cleaning offers substantial benefits. It treats off-line and in-line moulds and presses more quickly, without the need for disassembly and without damaging surfaces. This considerably prolongs equipment service life and enhances product quality and appearance. Dry-ice cleaning is perfect for:
- Matrices and moulds
- Plastics processing equipment
- Conveyor belts
CRYOCLEAN®complete – Dry ice blasting without handling of pellets.
Continuous cleaning jobs require increased efforts on pellet handling. Fresh pellets are often required for high performance cleaning jobs. For both demands the CRYOCLEAN®complete unit is the ideal solution. Pelletiser and blasting unit connected in a compact device. Anytime the logic control supplies fresh pellets. Just connect it to a CO2 tank from Linde and clean on demand.
CRYOCLEAN®snow –CO2 blasting without pellets.
Wherever a gentle but efficient cleaning is necessary CRYOCLEAN®snow offers new possibilities. CO2-snow particles are directly generated out of liquid carbon dioxide. Pressure air will accelerate these particles. Mean contaminations will be removed by highly effective surface treatment. Even automation is a proven procedure. |
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| Martin Blanke |
| Telephone: | +49 89 31001-5656 |
| Fax: | +49 89 31001-5585 |
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