Dry Ice Blasting Glossary
The vocabulary that shows up in dry ice blasting scopes, outage packages, and coating specs — defined in plain language so you can read a quote without decoding it.
See the full question-and-answer library- Dry ice blasting
- An industrial cleaning process that accelerates solid CO₂ pellets in a compressed air stream to remove contamination without water, chemicals, or abrasive media.
- CO₂ blasting
- A synonym for dry ice blasting, named after the carbon dioxide medium. Also called CO₂ cleaning or carbon dioxide blasting.
- Cryogenic cleaning
- A general term for cleaning that relies on very low temperatures to break the bond between a contaminant and a substrate; dry ice blasting is the most common industrial form.
- Sublimation
- The phase change from solid directly to gas. Dry ice sublimates at −109.3 °F (−78.5 °C), which is why blasting leaves no liquid and no spent media.
- Thermal shock
- The rapid temperature drop at the contaminant-to-substrate bond line that makes the contaminant embrittle and lose adhesion, allowing it to be lifted off.
- Micro-explosion
- The rapid gas expansion (roughly 800× the pellet volume) that occurs as a pellet sublimates on impact and pushes the loosened contaminant away from the surface.
- Non-abrasive
- A medium softer than the substrate, so it removes contamination without eroding material, changing dimensions, or altering surface finish.
- Non-conductive
- A dielectric medium that does not conduct electricity, allowing de-energized electrical equipment to be cleaned without moisture or conductive residue.
- Secondary waste
- The spent media and rinse water produced by conventional blasting and washing. Dry ice blasting produces none, so only the original contaminant requires disposal.
- Pellet
- The standard 3 mm cylindrical dry ice consumable used for most industrial blasting. Smaller pellets and shaved ice are used for delicate surfaces.
- Shaved ice / block ice
- Dry ice shaved from a solid block into fine particles for gentle cleaning of soft or delicate substrates such as historic masonry and printed surfaces.
- Single-hose system
- A blast system that meters dry ice into the air stream at the machine and delivers it through one hose, providing higher impact energy for heavy industrial cleaning.
- Two-hose system
- A system that delivers air and ice separately and combines them at the nozzle, used for lower-aggression applications and long hose runs.
- HRSG
- Heat Recovery Steam Generator — the boiler in a combined-cycle plant that captures turbine exhaust heat. Fouled finned tubes raise backpressure and reduce heat rate.
- SCR catalyst
- Selective Catalytic Reduction catalyst, used to reduce NOx emissions. Surface fouling blocks the catalyst face and increases pressure drop and ammonia slip.
- AIG
- Ammonia Injection Grid — the manifold that distributes ammonia upstream of the SCR catalyst. Plugged nozzles cause uneven distribution and emissions excursions.
- Backpressure
- Exhaust-side resistance in a gas turbine or boiler system. Fouling increases backpressure, which reduces output and raises fuel consumption.
- Heat rate
- The fuel energy required per unit of electricity generated. Restoring clean heat-transfer surfaces improves (lowers) heat rate.
- NFPA 70E
- The electrical safety standard governing work on and near electrical equipment. Dry ice blasting on electrical gear is performed de-energized under its procedures.
- Lockout/tagout (LOTO)
- The procedure that isolates and de-energizes equipment before maintenance. Required on every asset before blasting begins.
- Anchor profile
- The measured surface roughness some coating specifications require. Dry ice blasting cleans without creating a profile, so it does not replace abrasive blasting where a profile is specified.
- Release agent
- The coating applied to molds and tooling to allow part release. Its residue builds up over cycles and is a common dry ice blasting target.
- Char
- The carbonized layer left on wood and structural material after a fire, removed with dry ice to expose sound material and eliminate odor sources.
- Hyphae
- The root-like filaments of mold that penetrate wood fibers. Because they sit below the surface, wiping alone leaves them behind and dry ice blasting is used to lift them out.
- Planned outage
- A scheduled shutdown window during which maintenance and cleaning are performed. Dry ice crews are typically staged before the unit comes offline to protect the critical path.
- TLV / exposure limit
- The occupational exposure threshold for CO₂ (commonly 5,000 ppm as an 8-hour average) that drives ventilation and monitoring requirements in enclosed work areas.
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