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Dry Ice Blasting During Planned Shutdowns

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Planned shutdowns give manufacturers an opportunity to clean and maintain facilities and equipment. For some companies, planned downtime in December makes the most sense because the company is closed for Christmas and New Year’s anyway. Other businesses prefer summer shutdowns, especially around the Fourth of July, because it’s when many employees take their annual vacations.

Shutdowns are costly, however, so it’s vital to make the most of them. You’re still paying workers, but you’re not getting any productive work from them. There are other considerations as well. For example, chemical cleaners can pose environmental health and safety concerns. Pressure washing does not, but it creates secondary waste. The same is true of sand blasting, which requires time-consuming clean-ups.

Dry Ice Blasting and Abrasive Ice Blasting

Dry ice blasting provides a safe, clean, and efficient alternative to these other processes. Dry ice cleaning, as it’s also called, uses a high-velocity stream of dry ice pellets to remove contaminants such as surface rust and coatings such as paint. A food grade material, dry ice is safe for commercial use and does not produce secondary waste streams, residues, or moisture.

Dry ice pellets won’t harm facility or equipment surfaces either. They can also reach cracks and crevices without becoming lodged there. That’s because during dry ice sublimation, solid carbon dioxide (i.e., dry ice) turns directly into a gas with no intermediate liquid state. Dry ice cleaning is also non-destructive and, compared to other methods, reduces equipment and facility downtime.

Unlike other processes, dry ice cleaning doesn’t require time-consuming surface preparation such as scraping. It also eliminates the need for extensive cleanups. The process is FDA, USDA, and EPA-approved and is both non-toxic and non-flammable. Dry ice blasting is used in the food and beverage industry, but it’s also a great way to clean other types of industrial machinery, equipment, and facilities.

If added aggression is required, abrasive ice blasting can be used instead. As its name suggests, this process combines a high-velocity stream of dry ice pellets with abrasive particles. Some dust is produced, but it’s significantly less (up to 97%) than with sand blasting. Like dry ice blasting, abrasive ice blasting doesn’t leave behind a watery mess either.

Plant Shutdowns: Three Dry Ice Blasting Case Studies

Nitrofreeze® of Worcester, Massachusetts (USA) provides Cold Jet® dry ice blasting equipment for sale or rent to companies across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. As the following case studies show, we help manufacturers who want a better way to clean during plant shutdowns.

#1 Overhead Conveyor Lines

A manufacturer of residential and commercial HVAC systems needed to remove paint overspray from an overhead conveyor line. During a summer shutdown, Nitrofreeze® used dry ice blasting to remove the excess paint from the conveyor system’s chains, carriers, and other metal components.

#2 Printing Presses

A manufacturer of high-quality packaging needed to clean the ink stations on a printing press. During the company’s winter shutdown, a Nitrofreeze® crew needed just five hours to use dry ice blasting on the grippers, rollers, and surrounding structures to remove build-ups of inks and other contaminants.

#3 Paper Mill Equipment

During a holiday shutdown, a paper mill wanted a faster way to clean large dryers with massive rollers. There were three machines total, each with nine rollers. Over the course of the shutdown, a Nitrofreeze® crew cleaned the rollers while the machines were jogged.

Plan Now to Use Dry Ice Blasting    

Is dry ice blasting the right way to clean facilities and equipment during your next planned shutdown? Whether you need to clean ceilings, walls, floors, or industrial equipment, you’ll save time and money by choosing dry ice cleaning instead of sand blasting or pressure washing. The experts at Nitrofreeze® are ready to answer your questions, including ones about dry ice blasting vs. abrasive ice blasting.

To get started, contact us at the phone number and email listed below.

(508) 459-7447 x109 | info@nitrofreeze.com