Garnet Media Vs. Superoxalloy

When evaluating an alternative to garnet abrasive, it is crucial to consider materials that enhance safety, performance, and environmental sustainability. While garnet is often used for its versatility, alternatives can improve operational efficiency, reduce dust generation, offer better cost-effectiveness, and enhance worker safety over time.

Understanding garnet media’s potential shortcomings can help you find an option that better meets your industry demands and improves worker safety.

What Is Garnet Blasting Media?

Garnet is a more efficient abrasive than coal and copper slags, and is commonly used in surface preparation, cleaning, and finishing applications. It is derived from natural garnet, a group of silicate materials valued for its angular shape and hardness in abrasive blasting applications. Its chemical composition mainly consists of almandine, an aluminum-iron garnet mineral, giving it a hardness of around 7.5.

Despite this hardness, it can break down quickly during blasting, reducing its efficiency over time and requiring more frequent replenishment. This drives up material consumption and operational costs, especially in large-scale projects. 

Is Garnet Blasting Media Safe?

There is limited data available on the exposure risks to garnet. The limited studies available suggest that it may be as harmful as or even potentially more harmful than silica sand. 10X has summarized the information and made it publicly available on our safety webpage. 

Can Garnet Cause Silicosis?

Silicosis is caused by inhaling silica dust, which is common in materials like quartz and sand. Garnet dust can contain small amounts of free crystalline silica and is classified as a silicate mineral. That said, it still produces fine particulate matter during blasting, meaning garnet dust can be harmful. The data available suggests that the lungs will struggle to clear these particles if inhaled. Therefore, respiratory protection and adequate ventilation are essential to protect operators from lung damage.

What Are the Dangers of Garnet Blasting?

Garnet blasting generates moderate dust levels, which can reduce the operator’s visibility during blasting. This reduction of blaster visibility can compromise precision and safety.

Garnet is mined from the Earth, which is energy-intensive and environmentally detrimental, particularly when higher volumes of the material must be extracted. Additionally, improper mining practices can contaminate surrounding soil and water sources, especially if they contain heavy metals or other contaminants.  

Superoxalloy as an Alternative to Garnet Abrasive

While garnet is a common blasting media choice, it has several performance and safety limitations, as well as environmental concerns from the mining process. These factors make it less than ideal when your organization wants to focus on durability, sustainability, and efficiency. By exploring other abrasives, your organization can improve its productivity, lower overhead, and boost worker safety.

Superoxalloy is an engineered abrasive created from the mineral wool insulation manufacturing process, which uses a combination of super-high heat and rapid cooling that creates noncrystalline or amorphous and tempered particles resistant to breaking under the high-speed mechanical impact stresses common in abrasive blasting operations. It can remove tough coatings like powder coating and tank claddings. This product significantly delays rust bloom or flash rust without any additives like a corrosion inhibitor or environmental control equipment such as dehumidifiers. It creates a clean surface that is mostly free of embedment, along with the following benefits:

• Durability and efficiency: Superoxalloy is compatible with various materials and can be reused multiple times. Garnet tends to degrade quickly, especially when used on harder substrates or at higher blasting pressures.
• Surface preparation quality: Superoxalloy abrasives provide a more uniform surface profile, leading to better coating or paint adhesion.
• Worker safety: Superoxalloy materials are mineral wool insulation, which is verified by global health authorities and generates less dust than garnet.

10X superoxalloy products focus on operator safety. These products represent a cutting-edge advancement in abrasive blasting technology engineered to deliver superior performance across a wide range of industrial applications. There are three product families, each geared toward specific applications:

1. EpiX: EpiX-EP is a precision-grade, fine mesh abrasive used in surface preparation and tool cleaning. It can replace 46-, 54- and 60-grit garnets. EpiX-MP replaces 80- or 100-grit garnet, and EpiX LP is a low-profile abrasive and replaces 150 and 180 grit garnet.
2. KintetiX: KinetiX is used for military vehicles, pipelines, and other steel applications that require a 2.0- to 3.5-mil profile. This product is available in 20/70 for all-purpose use and replaces 30/60 garnets. KinetiX is also available as a 40/70 for general-purpose use and replaces 46 and 54 girt garnet.
3. DynamiX: DynamiX is coarser and used on thick coatings that require a 3.5 mil or higher profile. It is often used in cladding removal, pipelines, water towers, and bridges. It replaces 16, 20, and 36-grit garnet.

How Does Superoxalloy Outperform Garnet?

In a controlled test, 10X Engineered Materials blasted a steel panel with both garnet and KintetiX-20/70 superoxalloy. The panel was previously blasted and then powder-coated. The side blasted with KinetiX took only 5:37, whereas the side blasted with garnet under the same conditions took 7:28. Also, the abrasive consumption was almost twice the rate with garnet. On a large-scale project, these results would mean a lot more profit for the crew blasting with 10X’s superoxalloy abrasive.

Additional factors that indicate superoxalloy’s superiority include:

• Greater health and safety: Superoxalloy products have a clean health and safety profile. They are made from mineral wool insulation, which is biosoluble in the lungs, and this means they are not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity in humans. In fact, this material is in the same safety category as coffee, according to the World Health Organization’s IARC Monograph.
• Low dust generation: This abrasive also creates a low-dust work environment, which offers health benefits and allows operators to deliver high-quality results in less time than other abrasives, as the blasters have better visibility.
• Can be reused: As superoxalloy abrasives resist breakage at blasting pressures over 120 psi, they can be reused many times.
• Efficiently shaped: Superoxalloy abrasives consist of polymorphous particles — each shape performs a different task during blasting to deliver a ready-to-coat surface.
• Superior cutting power: Particle toughness ensures the thorough removal of coatings, contaminants, and corrosion. 

See the Difference With 10X Engineered Materials

Selecting the right alternative to garnet blasting media requires considering safety, performance and the complete environmental impact of your abrasive. While garnet is an effective abrasive material, its downsides can present disadvantages for certain blasting jobs and operations. By transitioning to a more effective, safer, and eco-friendly abrasive material, your operations can achieve superior surface preparation while reducing your costs and creating a safer, healthier working environment. 

Make an engineered decision and switch to 10X Engineered Materials’ superoxalloy abrasives. These are powerful alternatives to garnet abrasives that are both cost-effective and offer superior surface preparation. Superoxalloys offer a range of benefits not found in other abrasive materials, setting these products apart from the rest.

Contact us today to learn more about how our safer abrasive media can assist with your projects.