ZÜBLIN Chimney and Refractory (ZCR) in Cologne, Germany provides innovative solutions in refractory construction, chimney construction, structural fire protection, and for technical insulation.

The company's services range from consulting and project planning through to service, maintenance, and documentation, as well as the reconstruction and refurbishment of industrial facilities.

ZCR had been using coal slag for their abrasive blasting projects across Europe. As the business grew, they were looking for ways to improve the working conditions for their workers, making it as clean and safe as possible. With coal slag, they experienced high levels of dust emission and impaired operator visibility, especially in enclosed areas.

In addition, the abrasive consumption was high, and it took a long time to remove thick and heavy isolations coatings.

To assess the current conditions and address these challenges, GMA teamed up with Elcometer, a blast and inspection equipment provider and ZCR Department Manager Alexander Blaschke to conduct a blasting trial between GMA PremiumBlast™ garnet and coal slag on site.

During the trial, we saw a considerable reduction in dust levels, and operator visibility was greatly improved while blasting with GMA PremiumBlast™. We then looked into the blasters’ blasting techniques and fine-tuned the equipment settings. By reducing the air pressure to 7 bar, which was less tiring for the blaster, we were able to optimize the abrasive flow while reducing abrasive consumption.

Besides increasing the cleaning speed, especially for removing isolation coatings*, the blasted surfaces were free of embedment and other pollutants/contaminations.

We were also impressed by Alexander’s dedication and hands-on approach in performing some of the tests himself to fully understand what it felt like for his workers.

*GMA PremiumBlast™ was tested on a test plate coated with 5mm lnterthem 7050, 10 mm Chartek 7 and 50 µm of the base coating lnterplus 256.

An isolation coating with 2cm thickness (20.000 microns), can be easily remove with GMA PremiumBlast™ garnet.

A few months into using GMA PremiumBlast™, Alexander has recorded a significant reduction in abrasive consumption of 75% for his ongoing projects. The current consumption rate is only 12.8kg/m2 compared to abrasives which require 50kg/m2.

By switching to GMA PremiumBlast™ garnet, ZCR has achieved a cleaner and safer working environment for its workers while reducing abrasive consumption.

By Steffen Glade, GMA Europe