A Fully Automated Hydroblasting Job
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A Fully Automated Hydroblasting Job

Not long ago, a crew of our industrial cleaning team was challenged by a client to engineer and subsequently carry out a fully automated hydroblasting job. As you will see, it took a lot of creativity to figure out the best way to do the job while keeping human workers at a safe distance. 

Our client was planning for a two-week cleaning job based on their past experience, but the automated solution we came up with accomplished it in half the time. Sizing Up the Situation The task that faced our cleaning team: six digesters—enormous vessels used in the processing of minerals—needed to be cleaned on their inner walls. Due to the nature of the processing operation, the interior surfaces of the digesters had accumulated a dense layer of exceptionally hard deposit scale cooked on over numerous months of operation. Breaking that debris loose from the walls was going to require very high pressure and volume of hydroblasting in an enclosed area. Rigging Up the Solution Our personnel examined the equipment and determined that it was possible to hydroblast the digester interiors without placing a human worker inside them. They built a temporary pulley system that allowed them to hang a 20K hydroblasting, rotating tool from above within each digester body and lower it to the bottom. Using a hydraulic winch, our experts then began cleaning the vessels from the bottom up. Mission Accomplished! Our automated solution let us clean two digesters simultaneously. With the workers in a safe location and our 20k hydroblasters scouring the digester interiors thoroughly, it took us seven days to finish the job. The last contractor to tackle the cleaning job took twice that long, so the plant and maintenance managers were extremely pleased! Can our research into automated hydroblasting benefit your plant or facility? Give us a call or send an email, and we will be happy to tell you more about our exceptionally safe, fast, thorough industrial cleaning services.  

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