Cryogenic Cleaning Solves Rocky Mineral Buildup Problem
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Equipment used in the mining industry faces challenges that we rarely see above ground. Constantly surrounded by powdered rock, underground moisture, and minerals carried in the forced-circulation air, the electrical motors on mining machines take a beating if not protected carefully. In the state of Florida—not a region typically associated with mining—Thompson Industrial Services recently came to the rescue of an operation that was ruining electric motors at an unsustainable pace due to mineral buildup. Cryogenic cleaningsucceeded where more common cleaning methods failed.Manufacturing FertilizerThe Florida-based company in question was extracting phosphate from the earth, one of the primary components of plant fertilizer. The system worked quite well except for one major problem: The mining process caused a layer of gypsum to build up on key parts of the equipment’s electrical motors. This thick layer prevented the motors from cooling properly, and they were burning out on a regular basis. Because this specialized equipment is expensive, managers had to find a way to clean it rather than continue to buy new units.The Answer? Cryogenic CleaningAdding to the difficulty for the mining managers was the fact that they did not have the option to shut down production long enough to remove the motors and clean them. Spraying the electrical motors with water through hydroblasting was obviously not an option. Our experts suggested cryogenic cleaning, which utilizes micro size ice applied at supersonic speed instead of water to remove mineral buildup. Without turning off the motors, three technicians blasted the gypsum layer away, saving the equipment and avoiding any downtime at all.

You may think that your particular cleaning need is an unsolvable puzzle (at least in order to stay within budget!), but our experts will surprise you. Cryogenic cleaning, hydroblasting, and our other industrial cleaning solutions consistently exceed the expectations of our satisfied clients.

Press Contact

• Emily Martin
• Marketing Manager
• 100 N. Main Street
• Sumter, SC 29150
• (803) 773-8005
• emartin@thompsonind.com