Dry Ice Blasting Breaks the Strongest Adhesive Bonds 

Key Takeaways: Dry ice blasting removes industrial adhesives using kinetic impact, thermal shock (-109.3°F or -78.5°C) and gas expansion (800x). Unlike scraping or solvents, it is non-abrasive, leaves no secondary waste, and allows for in-place cleaning without machinery disassembly.

If you work with adhesives in your manufacturing processes, you understand how difficult it can be to remove them. There are multiple methods for getting adhesives off surfaces, tools, and machinery, but only one is proven to be as gentle as it is aggressive: dry ice blasting. 

The 3 Primary Reasons Why Adhesives Resist Removal

Adhesives are inherently designed to bond to surfaces and not let go. Once they cure, i.e., solidify, adhesives naturally anchor themselves to surfaces through multiple means:

Molecular Bonding

At the microscopic level, adhesives become strongly attached through electrostatic and chemical bonds between molecules of the adhesive and the substrate. The weaker electrostatic bond works through surface area attraction between molecules while the stronger covalent or ionic chemical bond shares electrons among substrate and adhesive molecules, forcing the two together. 

Mechanical Bonding

All surfaces, including completely smooth ones, have imperfections that are invisible to the naked eye and look like tiny valleys, peaks, and crevices under a microscope. Much in the same way Velcro works through a series of tiny hooks, liquid adhesives fill these spaces and “hook in” once they harden. 

Duration Bonding

Also known as polymer cross-linking, this process causes an adhesive's bond strength to increase the longer it remains hardened on a surface. Over time, the adhesive continuously reacts with other elements such as light, heat, and oxygen to create an interconnected polymer web that makes it even tougher. This phenomenon causes older adhesives to resist removal efforts more than newer ones. 

All these bond types come together to produce a strong adhesive, and in turn make it particularly difficult to break down. It should be noted that some adhesives are more resistant to cleaning methods than others, so choosing the best method goes deeper than just trying to avoid damaging surfaces.

Typical Equipment Needing Adhesive Removal

Adhesive buildup is a common maintenance challenge across industries — from packaging and printing lines to aerospace assemblies and electronics manufacturing. Common equipment requiring regular adhesive removal includes:

• Glue nozzles and applicators

• Cutter drums

• Glue assemblies

• Gripper drums

• Production and processing equipment

• Bag-in-box formers

• Labelers

• Conveyors

• Composite layup tools

• Bonding fixtures

• Printed Circuit Board Boards (PCBs)

• Electronic assemblies

• Ancillary equipment

Depending on the surface or equipment that needs adhesive removal, machinery may typically need to be switched offline to clean off sticky residue with traditional cleaning methods. 

Why Traditional Adhesive Removal Methods Are Ineffective

Since adhesives are intentionally strongly bonded, they put up greater resistance to being removed and thus require more forceful means of separation from surfaces. The problem is that the force required can often have unintentional consequences such as damage to the surface or object from which the adhesive is being removed. 

The most common ways to remove adhesives like glue and other bonding agents include the following:

Forcibly removing the bond by scraping, pulling, or abrasive blasting: 

While using a scraper is often the go-to method for adhesive removal, it can also be the most physically damaging. When possible, it is advised to try to slide the edge of a scraper under the adhesive and pry it away from the surface. Using a plastic scraper instead of a metal one can sometimes mitigate scratching damage, but can be less effective against more stubborn adhesives. It should be noted that scaping or pulling adhesives tends to only work with weaker bonds.Tougher adhesives can be removed with sandblasting or another abrasive blasting method in very specific circumstances, but such methods gradually wear down tolerances and profile metal surfaces.. Blasting media waste can also prove destructive if it gets into the inner workings of sensitive machinery.

Heating the bond to reliquefy the adhesive and be more malleable: 

Using direct heat via a heating gun or other heat medium can transform the solid adhesive back into a more viscous form, making it easier to wipe off. However, this method presents two issues: 

• Surfaces that are sensitive to heat such as rubber and certain plastics may become warped or damaged from the heat alone. 

• Attempting to wipe the reliquefied adhesive away may leave sticky residue behind, requiring extra effort to fully remove all traces. 

Dissolving the bond through a corrosive chemical process:

The most popular method, solvents can be applied to adhesives to dissolve them entirely. Solvents come in many varieties and strengths, including isopropyl alcohol (IPA), acetone, mineral spirits, toluene, and natural citrus-based formulas. However, the harsher chemicals in this list can pose a danger to substrates as well as personnel though exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC) and potential skin contact. 

Embrittle the bond so the adhesive loses its structure and breaks away:

Typically done through a form of flash freezing, adhesives are exposed to extremely cold temperatures to cause embrittlement. The sudden drop in temperature halts the different bonding processes from engaging, severely weakening or breaking the bond between adhesive and surface. This method is gaining popularity for its rapid effectiveness.

How Does Dry Ice Blasting Remove Adhesives?

Dry ice blasting is a non-abrasive cleaning method that uses CO₂ pellets to embrittle and lift adhesives from substrates. This industrial cleaning method removes adhesives through a three-step process that happens in milliseconds:

1. Kinetic Impact: Dry ice pellets are accelerated at extreme velocity and impact a contaminated surface, embrittling the hardened top layer of the adhesive 

2. Thermal Shock: The subzero temperature of dry ice [-109.3°F (-78.5°C)] causes the adhesive particles to rapidly contract, loosening their bond from the warmer surface

3. Gas Expansion: Since dry ice sublimates (turns to gas from a solid) upon impact, the rapid release of the CO2 gas causes an 800x expansion effect that forces adhesive particles to separate from the substrate
   

6 Reasons Why Dry Ice Blasting Is Superior at Adhesive Removal

Beyond giving an operator the ability to remove stuck-on adhesives with little effort, dry ice blasting also offers several benefits that other removal options do not:

1. Reduced Cleaning and Downtime:

   Since dry ice blasting is one of the very few industrial cleaning methods that allow for in-place cleaning, adhesives can be removed from a working machine without the need for shutdown, cooldown, or disassembly. Additionally, dry ice blasting removes adhesives at a much faster pace than traditional methods.

2. Non-Abrasive:

   Dry ice is a softer blasting media option that does not harm most surfaces and does not rely on an inherently corrosive or abrasive nature to break adhesive bonds. Dry ice removes adhesives while preserving critical geometries and surfaces.

3. Non-Conductive:

   If the adhesive is surrounded by sensitive electronic components that require a dry cleaning method, dry ice will not affect their functionality or ability to transfer energy. 

4. No Secondary Waste or Residue:

   Dry ice blasting produces no secondary waste and sublimates into gas upon impact—no blasting media to collect and no chemical residue requiring disposal.

5. Versatility:

   Advanced dry ice blasters like the Cold Jet Aero2 PCS Ultra provide customization of pellet size, air pressure, and consumption rate to tackle a wide range of adhesive strengths, removing all types of adhesive with ease. 

6. High ROI:

   While initial investment is higher than many methods, the ROI value of a quality dry ice blaster pays for itself quickly (typically 6-18 months) in lower labor costs (up to 70%), less downtime (up to 60%), no waste disposal, and less equipment wear.

4 Steps for Removing Adhesives with Dry Ice Blasting

1. Evaluate adhesive type, hardness, and age

   Knowing what kind of adhesive you are dealing with is a critical first step in the removal process. Different adhesives cure at different rates and have different molecular structures that affect their final hardness. Additionally, adhesives that have been stuck onto surfaces for longer may present a tougher challenge. Understanding these factors will play a significant role in choosing your dry ice pellet size, blasting pressure, consumption rate, and other dry ice blaster settings for a successful removal. 

2. Evaluate substrate material and surface texture

   While dry ice blasting is non-abrasive, different equipment and materials have different blasting tolerances, so ensuring your machinery can withstand the cleaning process cannot be understated. Additionally, smooth and uneven textures alike should be evaluated for any hard-to-reach spots and blasting sensitivities.

3. Choose dry ice blaster settings to fit the adhesive type, hardness, and substrate being cleaned 

   Here are some key points to remember when choosing your dry ice blasting settings:

   •  Harder, more stuck-on adhesives typically need a larger pellet size and higher air pressure to loosen the sticky bond and separate from the substrate

   •  Delicate surfaces with sensitive textures and equipment, especially electronic components, should use smaller pellet sizes and lower air pressures to avoid damage 

4. Choose the correct nozzle

   Choose a nozzle type that suits the surface you are removing adhesive from and one that offers versatility to clean various contaminant types at the same time when possible. Ensure the nozzle can also clean the hard-to-reach spots.

Final Takeaway: Dry Ice Blasting is Highly Effective at Removing Adhesives

Removing adhesives from industrial equipment, whether inside facilities or out in the field, can be a challenge for any engineer or maintenance technician. However, dry ice blasting simplifies the process by breaking  adhesive bond types at a microscopic level. Through coupling the sublimation process with kinetic energy and extreme cold, dry ice blasting dissipates adhesive bonds in milliseconds, leaving surfaces clean and ready to resume work. 

Want to know if dry ice blasting can solve your sticky situations? 

Contact Cold Jet to see how cold science can break bonds for you!