What is dry ice used for?
Dry ice has a diverse range of applications, making it a versatile tool in various industries. Valued for its ability to maintain low temperatures it is commonly used for transporting food, medical products, and other perishable items and can also be used to create special effects.
Its benefits also make dry ice deal for industrial cleaning, which involves shooting dry ice pellets at high velocities to remove contaminants without causing damage or leaving any residue.
What is dry ice blasting?
Dry ice blasting is a method used to clean and maintain industrial equipment and machinery. Used to remove contaminants such as grease, paint, oil and rust without causing damage to the underlying surface, this method of cleaning is efficient, environmentally friendly, and reduces downtime compared to traditional cleaning methods.
Dry ice blasting uses dry ice pellets, which are carbon dioxide (CO2) in its solid state. Dry ice pellets are produced by compressing and cooling gaseous CO2 to a liquid state, then allowing it to expand to form CO2 snow. The CO2 snow is then compressed into conveniently sized pellets.
The pellets are accelerated by a stream of compressed air which impacts the particles against the surface to be cleaned. The process provides a dry, non-abrasive cleaning, and as the dry ice pellets sublimate immediately on impact, there is no need for secondary waste disposal.
Key advantages of dry ice blast cleaning
- Reduction in operating costs - allows for online cleaning in many applications, removing the need for prior dismantling of equipment. Significantly reducing downtime and cost.
- Non-abrasive cleaning - can be used on precision tooling and electrical equipment.
- No secondary waste - only the surface contaminant being removed requires disposal as the dry ice sublimes immediately upon impact.
- Environmentally friendly - non-toxic and non-corrosive. There is no need for hazardous solvents or chemicals, or for their controlled and costly disposal.
Where can I buy dry ice?
Nippon Gases supplies dry ice in a variety of forms including 0.5 kg slices, 1 kg slices, 10.5 kg blocks and 3 mm and 9 mm pellets.
It's quick and easy to buy dry ice from us by contacting our Customer Experience Team on +44 (0)1469 554775 who are available Monday to Friday from 8am - 5pm, by email or by completing our contact form.
Our fast and cost effective nationwide delivery service provides next working day delivery throughout the UK and Ireland*.
* Standard delivery Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. Next working day delivery, subject to area. Order by 11am for next working day delivery in the UK and by 12 noon in Ireland.