Dry ice blast cleaning, a non-abrasive, non-toxic, and time-saving cleaning approach, has revolutionized industrial maintenance cleaning. This new, more efficient way of cleaning lowers downtime and boosts productivity.
The Use of Dry Ice in Substation Blasting
What is dry ice blast cleaning and how does it work?
Cleaning with dry ice is much like sandblasting, bead blasting, or soda blasting, wherein 3 mm dry ice pellets are accelerated in a pressurised air stream to impact the surface being cleaned. Dry ice evaporates as it comes into contact with a surface.
Known as sublimation, this is a unique property of dry ice that makes it perfect for cleaning a wide range of industrial equipment in the electrical and mining sectors, among other applications.
Dry Ice Blasting
Substation cleaning applications are discussed below:
- Maintenance Cleaning
Substations should be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent dust and pollutants from building up and causing a conductive bridge that might result in a flash. To minimize flash-over repairs and their associated prohibitive costs, preventative cleaning may be scheduled in advance to reduce catastrophic failures and allow for closer examination and problem detection during cleaning. It is possible to thoroughly clean busbars, switch gear, control panels, and transformers using this method.
- Disaster Recovery
It is a race against time to clean the substation as fast and effectively as possible in order to restore electricity service to your customers once a flashover has happened.
Dry ice blasting is the fastest and most efficient way to remove carbon from electrical components. Equipment dismantling is minimal (mostly covers to gain access to busbars, CT’s, VT’s etcetera).
What is it about dry ice blasting that is so revolutionary?
- Due to there being no abrasion, there is no equipment damage;
- Higher levels of safety since the procedure is dry, non-toxic, and non-abrasive, and it is ideal for use on a variety of equipment including electrical panels, rotors and stators, transformers and electrical motors;
- A quicker, more comprehensive clean, even in intricate cavities where typical grit blast materials would get entangled;
- Remove or reduce the use of permanent blast media, as well as the use of solvents, acids, and chemical detergents;
- It reduces garbage disposal and is more ecologically friendly;
- Reduced downtime, higher production, and bottom-line cost savings.
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Wynand Schutte
Dry Ice Blasting Services (Pty) Ltd