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  Dry ice blasting with chemical additivesUSPTO Application #: 20070178811Title: Dry ice blasting with chemical additives Abstract: Dry ice blasting using dry ice pellets having additives, such as antimicrobial compounds, disinfectants, surfactants, and odorants. Additives are incorporated into solid carbon dioxide by any variety of processes. The additives are selected on the basis of cleaning or olfactory effects. (end of abstract)
Agent: Air Liquide Intellectual Property Dept. - Houston, TX, US USPTO Applicaton #: 20070178811 - Class: 451 39 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070178811. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) to provisional application No. 60/764,302, filed Feb. 1, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND [0002]Dry ice is generally used for many applications, like cooling and chilling purposes in the food and beverage industries. One of the latest uses is the use of dry ice in blasting applications. Dry ice blasting is similar to sandblasting, high-pressure water blasting, or steam blasting. Dry ice blasting systems may project small rice size pellets of dry ice at a temperature of about -78.degree. C. out of a jet nozzle or applicator together with compressed air onto the surface of a target material. The low dry ice temperature causes contaminants on the target material surface to shrink and loose adhesion to the target material. The warmer sub surface of the target material causes the dry ice to sublime into carbon dioxide gas which has about 800 times greater volume than the solid dry ice. The carbon dioxide expands behind the contaminant speeding up contaminant removal from the surface. The contaminant then typically falls to the ground, or into some receptacle. Because the dry ice evaporates, only the contaminant is left for disposal. [0003]Because conventional dry ice blasting provides cleaning based on using pellets of solid carbon dioxide alone, the potential applications, and/or the effectiveness for a given application, are limited. Therefore, the remains a need for improving and/or expanding the uses dry ice blasting using dry ice pellets. SUMMARY [0004]Embodiments of the invention generally provide for dry ice blasting using dry ice pellets having additives. One embodiment of the invention provides a method for treating a surface of a target item by providing pellets which include solid carbon dioxide and one or more additives, providing a stream of pressurized gas, combining the pellets and the pressurized gas to accelerate the pellets, and exposing the surface of the target item to the accelerated pellets. [0005]Another embodiment of the invention provides a method for treating a surface of a target item by providing solid carbon dioxide pellets, providing a stream of pressurized gas, combining the solid carbon dioxide pellets and the stream of pressurized gas, exposing the surface of the target item to the solid carbon dioxide pellets, and using solid carbon dioxide pellets including one or more additives which are selected from at least one of antimicrobial compounds, disinfectants, detergents, odorants, and combinations thereof. [0006]Another embodiment of the invention provides pellets for treating surfaces of dry ice blasting target items, including dry ice and one or more additives which are releasable onto the surfaces of the target items. The one or more additives are selected to effect at least one of a cleaning function, a sanitizing function, disinfecting function, anti-microbial function, and an olfactory response in a human being. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007]For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are given the same or analogous reference numbers and wherein: [0008]FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a process for forming a dry ice product containing an additive chemical, according to one embodiment of the invention; [0009]FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment for forming extruded pellets of dry ice containing an additive chemical; [0010]FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process for forming a dry ice product containing an additive chemical, according to one embodiment of the invention; and [0011]FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment for forming extruded pellets of dry ice containing an additive chemical. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0012]The words and phrases used herein should be given their ordinary and customary meaning in the art by one skilled in the art unless otherwise further defined. [0013]In the following, reference is made to embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to specific described embodiments. Instead, any combination of the following features and elements, whether related to different embodiments or not, is contemplated to implement and practice the invention. Furthermore, in various embodiments the invention provides numerous advantages over the prior art. However, although embodiments of the invention may achieve advantages over other possible solutions and/or over the prior art, whether or not a particular advantage is achieved by a given embodiment is not limiting of the invention. Thus, the following aspects, features, embodiments and advantages are merely illustrative and are not considered elements or limitations of the appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s). Likewise, reference to "the invention" shall not be construed as a generalization of any inventive subject matter disclosed herein and shall not be considered to be an element or limitation of the appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s). [0014]As used herein, the term "antimicrobial" refers to a physical or chemical agent capable of causing greater than 90% reduction (1-log order reduction) in the population of bacteria or spores within 10 seconds at 60.degree. C. The antimicrobial composition used in embodiments of the invention preferably provides greater than a 99% reduction (2-log order reduction), and more preferably greater than a 99.99% (4-log order reduction), and most preferably a 99.999% (5-log order reduction) in such a population preferably within 60 seconds at 60.degree. C., and more preferably within 10 seconds at 60.degree. C. [0015]As used herein, the term "disinfectant" refers to a physical or chemical agent capable of preventing the growth and reproduction of various microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses) on surfaces. [0016]As used herein, the phrase "target item" or "target material" refers to equipment, devices, structures, food products, pharmaceutical products, or other items that are in need of surface treatment, sanitation, preserving, or otherwise protecting from or treated for pathogenic microorganisms. [0017]Dry ice blasting systems project small sized pellets of dry ice out of a jet nozzle or applicator together with compressed air onto the surface of a target material. Embodiments described herein incorporate additives to the dry ice pellets used in the dry ice blasting process. Dry ice blasting is well known in the art, and it is believed that any system or apparatus suitable for dry ice blasting is capable of use with embodiments of the invention. [0018]Dry ice for dry ice blasting may be produced by a controlled expansion of liquid CO.sub.2 into dry ice snow. Additives may be added to the liquid CO.sub.2 before the expansion of the liquid CO.sub.2 into dry ice snow, or the additives may be sprayed onto the surfaces of dry ice snow. Liquid CO.sub.2 is usually maintained at a temperature of about -60.degree. C. at a pressure of 5.11 atm, although embodiments of the invention are not limited to particular temperature or pressure values for maintaining liquid CO.sub.2. In embodiments of the invention, the additives used may have freezing points higher, lower, or similar to that of liquid CO.sub.2. Embodiments of the invention can involve mixing one or more additives with a carrier chemical to a final concentration without affecting the freezing point of the carrier chemical. In a particular embodiment, a combined solution prepared using a carrier chemical and one or more additives should not have a freezing point higher than that of liquid CO.sub.2. In one embodiment of the invention, liquid CO.sub.2 combined with a carrier chemical and an additive is fed to an ice press to form dry ice. Yet another embodiment of the invention involves feeding liquid CO.sub.2 and a carrier chemical and an additive to an ice press as separate streams, which then combine in the press to generate dry ice "snow" containing the additives. In embodiments of the invention, the additives may be selected from those listed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as being GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). [0019]In various embodiments, the additive formulation can essentially contain an alcohol, a terpene, or polyethylene glycol as a carrier chemical in various embodiments. An alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (--OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is C.sub.nH.sub.2n+1OH. Food grade alcohol, ethanol, is a carrier chemical that has a very low freezing point, and can be used in one embodiment of the invention. Terpenes are another large group of chemical compounds found in nature that act as effective carrier chemicals with low freezing points. One such example is d-limonene, present in orange peel and extracted from the orange skin and provides a lemon-orange scent. The freezing point of d-Limonene is suitable for liquid CO.sub.2 storage conditions, and is also considered to be an effective carrier chemical used in formulation preparations. Polyethylene glycol is a non-toxic liquid with low molecular weight, and is a common ingredient of pharmaceuticals. Continue reading... Full patent description for Dry ice blasting with chemical additives Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Dry ice blasting with chemical additives patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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