“Sandblasting” is the term commonly used to describe different types of surface treatment that project abrasive particles at a high velocity onto the surface to be treated.
This in general is a preparatory process for protective coatings or is used in order to remove contaminants or other residues.
The abrasives may be mineral-based or metallic oxides, mostly in a mix of size and hardness. Spheres made of glass or ceramic, as well as steel cilinders/wires are used to harden metals or to obtain certain surface effects, thus avoiding the typical problems of traditional chemical processing.
Filtration in this application has to evaluate the following specific parameters:
- abrasives and removed particles: type, hardness, particle size, impact velocity
- possible presence of contaminants: oil, grease, humidity etc.
- possible presence of electrostatic charges, therefore risk of fire/explosion
