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Blast Room Construction
Pollution Prevention Opportunity
Construction of a blast room recovery system can reduce the inadvertent loss of blast media and increase the potential for reuse. Blast room design improvements can also reduce potential building damage, reduce damage to nearby machinery, and improve storm water quality by preventing the escape of blast media.
Background
The typical blast room consists of a rectangular structure with a flat concrete floor. This type of construction increases costs by contributing to several problems. The weight of blast media often damages walls by forcing the walls away from vertical. Blast media can drift into corners and leak beneath the walls. Leaking blast media can damage nearby equipment such as air compressors, air conditioners, water coolers, and hydraulic units by plugging cooling coils or by being ingested by the equipment. Leaking media also contributes to storm water run off contamination, and cannot be reused for blasting. When blasting is done outside on a pad or on bare ground, the potential for these types of problems is even greater.
Blast Room Design
The blast room should be designed to allow blast media to be easily collected for reuse. Recovery can range from completely automatic systems to completely manual systems. In fully automatic recovery systems, blasting takes place over an open grate floor. Blast media falls through the floor after use into a hopper or separation system. A separation system separates undersized, worn media and soil from the good media; vibrating screens and pneumatic cyclones can be used for this purpose. After separation or screening, the media falls into a hopper. A mechanical or pneumatic conveyer then moves the media back into the blast system.
The blast room should be designed with rounded or chamfered corners to prevent media from drifting into inaccessible areas. Horizontal surfaces and pockets should be avoided as well since blast media will become trapped and require manual cleaning.
Safety is of critical importance in the room design. The room should be well ventilated to avoid dust buildup. Dust can be explosive. The floors should be conductive to avoid static charges and sparks that can set off explosions. Blasting equipment and the work piece should also be electrically grounded.
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