Dry blasting and high-pressure water blasting are no longer your only options for surface preparation. An advanced service technology from USA DeBusk called Vapor Blast yields equal or better results in a process that is safer, faster, more economical and more practical than conventional methods.
With Vapor Blast, abrasive media are mixed with water, direct-injected under hydraulic pressure into an airstream, and discharged through a hose and nozzle. A control system allows fine-tuning of flow rates and abrasive concentrations for optimum results.
Combining the effectiveness of both abrasive blasting and washing, Vapor Blast provides highly efficient cleaning and surface finishing for almost any plant application. Atomized particles conveyed at low pressure produce controlled, uniform scrubbing action, even for hard-to-reach surfaces such as the inside diameter of tubes across bends in U bundles.
Vapor Blast's capabilities include:
- Removing resins, rusts, chlorides, coatings, oils, stains, epoxy, mill scale and other contaminants, as well as scratches and grinding marks.
- Performing one-pass polishing of heat exchanger tubes for internal rotary inspection systems and Eddy inspections.
- Cleaning weld areas prior to API inspections.
- Removing corrosion under insulation.
- Allowing simultaneous cleaning and rust inhibitor application.
- Safely remediating contaminated structures (e.g., lead or asbestos).
Dry abrasive blasting poses significant safety risks for workers, who are exposed to dust containing airborne crystalline silica and other blasting agents. In 2016, OSHA released stringent permissible exposure levels, which made compliance much more difficult and expensive to achieve when dry blasting. Vapor Blast is a dust-free process that safeguards workers and complies with OSHA-permissible silica exposure levels.
Ultra-high-pressure (UHP) water blasting introduces risks of lacerations, burns and vibration injuries associated with high pressures. Vapor Blast operates at 70-125 psi, substantially reducing injury risks.
Vapor Blast also reduces worker stress and fatigue. Dry blasting requires a blast suit, full-face helmet and breathing apparatus. Vapor Blast is performed with light PPE and no breathing apparatus. Operating at low pressures, workers experience minimal hose back-thrust and no vibration.
Vapor Blast is more economical than conventional blasting, consuming fewer resources while providing high production rates. A typical project uses less than 10 percent of the abrasive as sandblasting would for the same production. Water consumption is only 10 gallons per hour (at 125 psi) for Vapor Blast, compared to approximately 480-2,400 gallons per hour (at 25,000-40,000 psi) for UHP water blasting. Lower volumes of water and abrasive not only reduce consumables costs, but also decrease costs of cleanup and waste disposal.
A Vapor Blast project occupies a small footprint and has limited containment requirements, making it more practical in congested work areas. Vapor droplets simply fall to the workplace floor, reducing the potential for interruptions, safety risks and delays to other contractor trades. Low abrasive and water requirements allow for fast, easy cleanup.
For more information, visit www.USADeBusk.com, call (844) 243-5557 or email sales@usadebusk.com.
