Dry Ice Blasting Leaves Natural Gas Pipeline Substation Clean & Efficient
Maintaining the electrical substations that power natural gas pipelines is a meticulously choreographed process. Shutdowns are carefully planned and timed. Multiple contractors must coordinate their work so that everything gets done with minimal disruption. Downtime is expensive.
When an electrical contractor needs switches, contact points and other electrical equipment cleaned in preparation for servicing, there are usually two options. One of them involves a lot of Brillo pads or emery cloths, isopropyl alcohol and a tireless source of elbow grease. The other is a highly effective water-free blasting method and an uncommonly reliable and well-trained team to implement it.
Many contractors, unfortunately, still turn to hand cleaning in the mistaken belief that the latter option does not exist.
Safe, Effective Water-Free Blasting vs. Hand Scrubbing
For two natural gas substations undergoing planned shutdowns in Illinois and Missouri recently, the electrical contractor had an advantage, however: He’d heard of dry ice blasting, a water-free blasting methods that uses frozen CO2 pellets to remove dirt, rust, flaking paint and more. A little searching led him to Polar Clean, a division of Premium Plant Services. And the Brillo pads were history.
Electrical substations accumulate a lot of dirt and grime, not to mention bird waste, which can be a source of corrosion and health risks like the transmission of disease.
The Advantages of Dry Ice Blasting for Cleaning Electrical Substations
Dry ice blasting can remove it all, without the risk of abrasion to delicate parts and without introducing water, chemicals or collateral debris.
Using a proprietary nozzle that can be adjusted to the appropriate level of force, dry ice blasting is aggressive enough to remove stubborn buildup and delicate enough for fragile equipment like electrical panels. The speed and temperature of the blast create a powerful thermal and kinetic energy transfer that lifts away adherents while the ice pellets sublimate on contact.
The benefits for electrical substation cleaning include:
- No water
- No chemicals
- Non-abrasive
- Non-conductive
- Environmentally safe
- No collateral media to clean up
- Ability to clean in crevices and other tight spaces
The Polar Clean Solution for Electrical Substation Cleaning
Electrical substation cleaning can be tricky work, full of hazards and tight spaces, but at Polar Clean, it’s the kind of work that is our specialty. With deep expertise and training for working in confined spaces, at heights, and managing hazardous materials, Polar Clean has built a reputation for tackling “impossible” industrial and commercial cleaning challenges across industries that include power generation, refineries and petrochemical plants, food and beverage manufacturing and more. Over the course of 12 hours, we completed the substation cleaning, removing dirt, grease, grime and corrosion from insulators, switch gear and fuse contact points, and in nooks and crannies that hand cleaning could not reach.
Our process begins with careful planning and testing to ensure high quality, cost-effective results –– safely and on time. In addition to dry ice blasting, we provide an array of other blasting types and cleaning solutions including sponge blasting and abrasive blasting.
Connect with Polar Clean
To learn more about how dry ice blasting can resolve your most challenging commercial and industrial cleaning problems, contact a member of our team.
You can also view our collection of guides and case studies or schedule a lunch and learn session with our experts. We’ll meet with your team at your office or via a Teams call to discuss how dry ice blasting works, how we work, and the results you can expect for your application, along with any questions you may have.