Johannesburg-based company NitraLife, along with its long-term partner Boland Dry Ice, has introduced a new innovative wet ice blasting technology which is set to revolutionise the industrial cleaning sector.
The Coulson IceStorm90 ice blaster is the first industrial cleaning machine on the market to use crushed ice as blasting media. According to Tom Sowry, NitraLife Sales Director, the technology, which is a first in South Africa, is a more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly, water-saving option to current conventional industrial cleaning technologies. Coarse ice cubes can be fed into the machine which then automatically crushes the ice to the grain-sized particles required for blasting.Water-saving capabilities
“Conventional hydro-blasting uses up to 35 times more water to achieve the same effect as the new technology of wet ice blasting,”Sowry explains.“In South Africa, where ongoing, acute water shortages are a constant daily reality for many, the water-saving capability of wet ice blasting is a welcome game-changer in the industrial surface cleaning sector,” he points out, adding that frequently, other methods of cleaning use chemicals which could be detrimental to workers’ health. With wet ice blasting, the only media used is completely safe water.
Unlike conventional non-ice cleaning media the Coulson wet ice blasting system creates a mist which suppresses airborne contaminants reducing any associated the risks. This is particularly important when cleaning or blasting surfaces that have formally been painted with lead-containing paint.
