Explosive Cleaning - The Sonic Alternative

Sonic horns have in recent years become established as the preferred alternative to soot blowers. This mechanical engineering forum page offers an insight into why this is.

However, the soot blower is not the only method of industrial cleaning to find itself rivalled, indeed overtaken, by sonic horn technology. There's a method called 'Explosive Cleaning', favored by power plants and waste to energy plants for boiler cleaning in particular, whereby an explosive gas is ignited within the boiler, producing shock waves which dislodge material build up. Explosive cleaning can also be used to dislodge ash build up in areas of plant such as superheaters, economizers and coal silos. Note: If you are involved with silo storage, you can read more about silo cleaning with audiosonic technology.

Whilst explosive cleaning can be effective, it carries with it some distinct disadvantages when compared to sonic horns.  The main ones are:

• Explosive cleaning of a boiler means the boiler has to be shut down. Downtime costs money.
• Explosive cleaning can be too slow for a plant's needs. 
• Explosive cleaning needs greater advance planning before being introduced. 

Photo: Sonic horn installed for boiler cleaning

Our involvement with many industrial plants around the world has taught us many things over the years and one of the most important is that minimal downtime is crucial. For that one reason alone, explosive cleaning just cannot compete with sonic horn cleaning.