What is dry ice?
Dry ice is a fascinating form of solid carbon dioxide (CO2), appearing as a white, cold substance at a chilling -78.5 ºC. It is typically derived by condensing carbon dioxide into a colorless liquid at a high pressure of 62.50 bar. Through a process of throttling and controlled depressurization, this liquid swiftly transitions into its solid state, creating what we know as dry ice.
Physical properties: Dry ice is characterized by its pristine white crystalline form. This remarkable substance sublimates easily at room temperature, releasing a high heat of vaporization. As it sublimates at atmospheric pressure, it can rapidly cool its environment, causing moisture in the air to condense and form visible vapors. Its simple cubic crystal structure underscores its identity as a molecular crystal composed of CO2 molecules.
Steam, typically formed from water vapor droplets or tiny ice crystals clinging to airborne dust particles, creates the visible white smoke often associated with dry ice. The simplicity of dry ice's cubic crystal structure represents the molecular nature of a single carbon dioxide molecule.
This formation involves stacking dry ice crystals in varying orientations at the corners and centers of the cube, defining its unique crystallographic identity.
Chemical properties: Dry ice is renowned for its chemical stability; it is odorless, non-toxic, non-combustible, and does not support combustion. However, elevated carbon dioxide levels in the air can stimulate the respiratory system, resulting in increased breathing rates and the potential risk of suffocation. Carbon dioxide exhibits significant thermal stability with only 1.8% decomposition at a formidable 2000 ºC. As an acidic oxide, dry ice retains the properties typical of such compounds, reacting with water to form carbonic acid.
This occurrence, termed hypoxia, highlights the importance of managing carbon dioxide concentrations. With high thermal stability, dry ice is barely decomposed even at extreme temperatures (only 1.8% at 2000 ºC). It is classified as an acidic oxide, capable of forming carbonic acid when interacting with water.
How is dry ice made?
The process begins with the extraction of liquid carbon dioxide from a dedicated storage tank. This liquid is then introduced into the ice pressing chamber of the dry ice machine, where it experiences rapid throttling through a precision-engineered nozzle. This process generates a significant amount of gaseous carbon dioxide, which immediately transitions into a snowflake-like solid form of dry ice.
Upon accumulating sufficient quantity, the machine's hydraulic system activates, deploying a piston to compress the snowflake-shaped dry ice into dense, solid cubes. These cubes are then extruded from the die, where a rotating blade swiftly intervenes, fracturing the elongated columns into smaller, manageable pieces.
The result is dry ice pellets, meticulously crafted to the desired length, ready for use in various applications.
There are three main principles of dry ice cleaning:
Energy transfer: Harnessing the power of kinetic energy, dry ice particles collide with the surface at high speed, transferring energy and causing instant sublimation. The rapid heat exchange between the dry ice and the surface results in dirt cooling swiftly, contracting, and becoming brittle, effectively loosening its grip.
This process concludes as the dirt is effortlessly dislodged and removed.
Low temperature cracking: Utilizing contrasting thermal expansion coefficients, dry ice pellets at an ultra-cold -78.5 ºC make contact with the surface material. This intense temperature difference triggers disruption in the adhesion between materials, freezing the dirt until it shatters.
This action causes the weakened dirt to fracture and detach, enhancing the mechanical properties of the treated surface by breaking adhesion bonds.
Micro explosion: As dry ice particles infiltrate the fissures in the dirt, they sublimate almost instantaneously, expanding their volume by 600-800 times. This explosive reaction propels the dirt off the object's surface, ensuring a thorough and effective clean.
Brief explanation of the industry application of dry ice cleaning
Revolutionizing traditional cleaning methods, dry ice cleaning finds its niche in removing various surface contaminants from metals, molds, production equipment, and even ancient artifacts. This method negates the need for cooling or disassembling molds, thereby averting the corrosive and damaging effects inherent in chemical cleaning approaches.
Unlike mechanical cleaning, which risks causing physical damage or scratches and reducing precision due to repetitive handling, dry ice cleaning offers a superior alternative. Consider these compelling examples:
1.Petrochemical industry: Embrace the innovative potential of dry ice cleaning technology for rust and dust eradication on equipment such as main fans, air compressors, exhaust fans, steam turbines, and blowers during petrochemical processes. This approach eliminates the need for blade removal and recalibration for dynamic balancing, enhancing operational efficiency.
SUZHOU CHIRUI ELECTROMECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. presents an exceptional cleaning solution with its High-Efficiency Dry Ice Cleaning Machine for Fast Cleaning Tasks. This innovative product revolutionizes maintenance by efficiently removing stubborn coking deposits from heating furnaces and reactors. It excels in cleaning polyvinyl chloride resin from heat exchangers and adeptly removes oil and rust stains from a variety of equipment including compressors, storage tanks, boilers, reactors, condensers, and intricate machinery parts.
And effortlessly eliminates dust;
2.Power system cleaning has never been easier. The High-Efficiency Dry Ice Cleaning Machine can safely and effectively clean indoor and outdoor transformers, insulators, distribution cabinets, wires, and cables even when they are live (up to 37 kV). It meticulously cleans generators, motors, rotors, stators, and other components without causing any damage, ensuring operational integrity.
3.In the food production sector, this dry ice cleaning marvel removes baking residues, gelatinous substances, and oil stains with ease. It prepares fresh product mixtures prior to baking and impeccably cleans ovens, mixing and stirring equipment, conveyor belts, and molded products.
It also tackles packaging equipment, furnace racks, plates, containers, rollers, refrigerator inner walls, biscuit grates, and other apparatuses with precision.
4.The automotive and shipping industries benefit significantly from this technology as it removes car door covers, canopies, carriage oil stains with zero water residue, averting water pollution risks. It efficiently cleans carburetors, removes paint from car surfaces, and eradicates engine carbon deposits in vehicles and ships. Traditional methods take extensive time and use harmful chemicals, but our solution resolves carbon deposition in just 10 minutes, achieving a descaling rate of 100%, saving time and cost.
The processing time is long, requiring at least 48 hours of use, and the medication is harmful to the human body. Dry ice cleaning can completely solve the problem of carbon deposition within 10 minutes, saving time and reducing costs, with a descaling rate of up to 100%;
It effectively cleans the hull, seawater intake valve, seawater condenser and heat exchanger, engine room, and all mechanical and electrical equipment on board, ensuring seamless operations.
5.In the sophisticated aerospace field, our cleaning technology supports pre-production processes for missile and aircraft painting and final assembly. It specializes in paint removal for composite molds, aircraft maintenance, particularly in the landing gear wheel compartment area, and efficiently cleans aircraft shells.
Our Jet engine conversion system can work directly on the body, optimizing time efficiency.
6.In the printing industry, the High-Efficiency Dry Ice Cleaning Machine tackles oil-based and water-based inks and varnishes, effectively cleaning oil stains, ink deposits, and dyes from gears, rails, and nozzles, preserving the quality of printed products.
This ensures that printing equipment remains in prime condition without suffering from wear and tear.
Cultural relics can be cleaned with unparalleled care using our dry ice cleaning technology, efficiently removing pollutants like soil, soluble salts, mold, and sedimentary films from surfaces of cultural relic specimens. This approach is far superior to traditional cleaning methods, elevating cleaning efficiency and quality while being environmentally friendly and safeguarding worker health.
Cleaning efficiency and quality are also more friendly to the environment and the health of workers.
Discover the sophisticated cleaning method and working principle of the CHIRUI pellet dry ice cleaning system.
Comparable to the use of steel, glass, plastic sand, and baking soda in blasting, dry ice blasting propels dry ice particles in a high-pressure airflow, impacting the surface to be cleaned. The allure of dry ice cleaning lies in its efficiency.
The uniqueness lies in the fact that dry ice particles vaporize at the moment of impact. The momentum of dry ice particles disappears at the moment of impact. Rapid heat exchange occurs between dry ice particles and the cleaning surface. cause
As solid CO2 sublimates rapidly into gas, the dry ice particles expand nearly 800 times in volume within milliseconds, causing a "micro explosion" at the point of impact. This innovative process ensures no secondary waste generation, leaving only the dirt to be collected and cleaned, demonstrating the environmental consciousness of this remarkable technology.
Sent it out, the dry ice cleaning process did not generate any secondary waste, leaving only the dirt that needs to be collected and cleaned.
| 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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