What is dry ice?
Dry ice is a fascinating substance, a solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2) that exists at a chilling -78.5 ºC. Under a pressure of 62.50 bar, CO2 is usually a colorless liquid that swiftly transforms into solid dry ice under reduced pressure, making it both practical and intriguing.
Physical properties: This white crystalline marvel sublimates easily at room temperature. It boasts a high heat of vaporization, creating a remarkable cooling effect as it sublimates at atmospheric pressure. This characteristic allows it to liquefy and condense water in the air, forming an interesting visual spectacle.
The steam you see, formed by water vapor droplets or minuscule ice crystals clinging to dust particles, creates the iconic white smoke of dry ice. Structurally, dry ice is composed of simple cubic crystals, each a molecular crystal built from a single carbon dioxide molecule.
The uniqueness of dry ice lies in the arrangement of its crystals, which stack in multiple orientations at the cube's vertices and centers.
Chemical properties: Dry ice presents a stable and harmless chemical profile-it is odorless, non-toxic, and non-combustible. However, in an enclosed space, excessive carbon dioxide can stimulate breathing and may risk suffocation if not properly ventilated.
This can lead to hypoxia, a state of reduced oxygen supply. Carbon dioxide's high thermal stability is remarkable, with only minimal decomposition even at extreme temperatures of 2000 ºC. Dry ice, an acidic oxide, reacts with water to create carbonic acid, showcasing the adaptability of its chemical nature.
How is dry ice made?
The process of creating dry ice begins with extracting liquid carbon dioxide from a storage tank and injecting it into the ice pressing chamber of a dry ice machine. This high-pressure environment, aided by a nozzle, transforms CO2 into gas and snow-like solid dry ice, setting the stage for further processing.
Upon reaching a sufficient quantity, the hydraulic system engages, compressing the snowflake-formed dry ice into compact cubes, which are extruded from the die end. At this moment, the dry ice machine's rotating blade activates, slicing the elongated dry ice into manageable pieces.
These pieces are then crafted into dry ice pellets of desired lengths.
There are three main principles of dry ice cleaning:
Energy transfer: The magic unfolds as dry ice particles collide with the surface at high velocities, dissipating kinetic energy. The rapid heat exchange between particles and surface causes instant sublimation, leading to temperature-induced contraction and brittleness of the dirt, effortlessly cleaning the surface.
This results in a swift removal of the contaminants.
Low temperature cracking: The magic of thermal expansion comes into play as materials with varying coefficients experience temperature-induced separation. As dry ice pellets at -78.5 ºC strike, dirt is frozen and subsequently brittles, ready for removal.
As the frozen dirt cracks and bursts open, its mechanical properties are compromised, causing the dirt to detach and fall away effortlessly.
Micro explosion: The drama intensifies as dry ice particles infiltrate dirt crevices. In a millisecond, they sublimate, expanding their volume by 600-800 times, effectively stripping away dirt from the object's surface.
Brief explanation of the industry application of dry ice cleaning
Dry ice cleaning is a revolutionary method for tackling surface contamination across various industries. It efficiently cleans metal surfaces, molds, production equipment, and even historical artifacts without the need for cooling or disassembly, eliminating risks of corrosion and chemical-induced damage.
Traditional mechanical cleaning, on the other hand, risks inflicting scratches, mechanical harm, and diminishing precision due to repetitive handling. To illustrate its versatility, consider these examples:
1.In the Petrochemical industry, the groundbreaking dry ice cleaning technology simplifies maintenance by efficiently purging rust and dust from critical machinery such as main fans, air compressors, exhaust fans, steam turbines, and blowers. This innovative method eliminates the cumbersome process of removing blades and recalibrating them for dynamic leveling, thus ensuring streamlined operations and enhanced equipment longevity.
With precision and ease, our dry ice cleaning system meticulously tackles the removal of coking residues in heating furnaces and reactors. It expertly cleans polyvinyl chloride resin on heat exchangers, while also efficiently stripping oil and rust stains from sophisticated equipment like compressors, storage tanks, boilers, reactors, condensers, and other complex machinery-all without the need for labor-intensive disassembly.
And eliminates dust effortlessly;
2.In the Power system sector, our dry ice cleaning solution offers unparalleled efficiency in maintaining indoor and outdoor transformers, insulators, distribution cabinets, wires, and cables. Designed for live load environments (below 37 kV), it provides meticulous cleaning for generators, motors, rotors, stators, and other components, ensuring superior performance without causing any damage.
3.Within Food production, dry ice cleaning emerges as a remarkable solution for eradicating baking residue, gelatinous substances, oil stains, and fresh product mixtures. This process effectively sanitizes ovens, mixing and stirring equipment, conveyor belts, and molded products, ensuring unparalleled hygiene and product quality control.
This cleaning technique extends to packaging equipment, furnace racks, furnace plates, containers, rollers, inner walls of refrigerators, biscuit grates, and other essential apparatus, safeguarding them from wear and tear.
4.In the Automotive and shipping industry, our cutting-edge dry ice cleaning technology revolutionizes the cleaning of car door covers, canopies, carriages, and bottom oil stains. By eliminating water residue, it prevents water pollution. It also excels in cleaning car carburetors, removing paint from car surfaces, and eradicating engine carbon deposits on both vehicles and ships, all without resorting to harmful chemical agents.
Traditionally, cleaning methods may take up to 48 hours and involve harmful chemicals. However, our dry ice cleaning method delivers complete carbon removal in merely 10 minutes, significantly cutting down time and costs, boasting a descaling rate of up to 100%.
Our technology excels in cleaning the hull, seawater intake valve, seawater condenser, heat exchanger, engine room, and an array of mechanical and electrical equipment aboard vessels, enhancing operational efficiency.
5.In the Aerospace field, our dry ice cleaning is indispensable for pre-production processes in missile and aircraft painting and final assembly. It is adept at paint removal from composite molds and special aircraft, engine carbon cleaning, and maintenance, particularly in the landing gear wheel compartment area. It's efficient in removing paint from aircraft shells, ensuring seamless operations.
The jet engine conversion system can be enhanced directly on the body, saving invaluable time and resources.
6.The Printing industry benefits greatly from dry ice cleaning, as it effectively eradicates oil-based and water-based inks, varnishes, and ink deposits from gears, rails, and nozzles. This process not only guarantees the integrity and quality of printed materials but also ensures the longevity of printing equipment by preventing wear and tear.
This method guarantees that the printing equipment remains in impeccable condition, free from wear and degradation.
In Cultural relic cleaning, the dry ice cleaning technology stands out for its efficient and non-destructive removal of pollutants like soil, soluble salts, mold, and sedimentary films on cultural relic specimens. It surpasses traditional cleaning methods by offering improved efficiency and quality, while also being environmentally friendly and safeguarding the health of workers.
This innovative approach enhances cleaning efficiency and quality while prioritizing environmental sustainability and worker health.
Discover the advanced cleaning method and working principle of CHIRUI's pellet dry ice cleaning system.
Analogous to the high-impact techniques like steel sand, glass sand, plastic sand, and baking soda blasting, dry ice blasting propels dry ice particles at high velocity. Upon impact, these particles work their magic on the surface to be cleaned, offering unmatched efficiency.
The uniqueness of dry ice cleaning lies in the instant vaporization of dry ice particles upon impact. This rapid sublimation leads to a quick heat exchange between the dry ice particles and the cleaning surface, creating a dynamic cleaning effect.
Solid CO2 transforms into gas immediately, with dry ice particles expanding nearly 800 times in volume in mere milliseconds, causing a 'micro explosion' at the point of impact. This phenomenon, harnessing the power of CO2's volatility, delivers an exceptional cleaning performance.
d9dc9725
| Model |
GT05 |
GT10 |
| Compressed air flow rate |
> 1.1³ /min |
> 2.5³ /min |
| air supply pressure |
0.4-1.0Mpa |
0.6-1.0Mpa |
| Dry ice blasting rate |
0-0.5KG/min |
0-1.0KG/min |
| Dry ice capacity |
5-7.5KG |
12-15KG |
| Dry ice state |
3mm granular |
3mm granular |
| Motor power |
0.37kw |
0.37kw |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) |
512 * 643 * 800 (mm) |
650 * 693 * 900 (mm) |
| Equipment weight |
65KG |
80KG |
| Power supply equipped with |
AC220V/50HZ |
AC220V/50HZ |
| Standard accessory 1 (air connection pipe) |
8m Φ 12mm compressed |
8m Φ 12mm compressed |
| Standard accessory 2 |
Gun handle |
Gun handle |
| Standard accessory 3 |
straight nozzle |
straight nozzle |
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