Hydro blasting, also known as high-pressure water jetting or water blasting, removes coatings, deposits and material from surfaces with a plain water jet at operating pressures between 300 and 4,000 bar. The process works without chemicals and without abrasive damage to the substrate. KAMAT has been manufacturing the technology behind it in Witten, Germany, since 1974: high-pressure plunger pumps in eleven sizes with 15 to 3,000 kW drive power and flow rates up to 10,500 l/min, certified to ISO 9001:2015.
How Does Hydro Blasting Work?
A high-pressure plunger pump compresses the water; the nozzle converts the pressure into jet velocity. The jet hits the surface with high impact and breaks coatings and deposits away mechanically. Every material has a critical pressure at which it separates from the substrate: simple surface cleaning starts at around 300 bar, paint stripping requires roughly 2,000 bar. Above the critical pressure, a higher flow rate rather than more pressure increases the removal rate. For selected tasks, an abrasive can be added to the water, which brings the removal performance close to sandblasting while keeping the process controllable.
Which applications does hydro blasting cover?
KAMAT groups hydro blasting into two application fields with their own detailed pages:
Surface treatment
- Decoating: stripping coatings from steel, concrete and ship hulls
- Rust removal and roughening: preparing surfaces for new coatings
- Concrete removal: selective hydrodemolition without vibration damage to the rebar
- Deburring, core removal and waterjet cutting: precision tasks in manufacturing
Industrial pressure washing
- Pipe cleaning and heat exchanger cleaning: removing deposits from tubes and bundles
- Runway cleaning: removing rubber abrasion from airport runways
- Ship cleaning, net cleaning and well rehabilitation: cleaning in maritime and water-supply environments
Case in Point: Runway Cleaning at Airports
Rubber abrasion from landing aircraft reduces runway friction and must be removed regularly. For this task, a KAMAT high-pressure pump delivering up to 29 l/min at 2,500 bar is installed in a special-purpose vehicle. A cleaning tool designed for runway surfaces [Link: /runway-cleaning/] removes the rubber layers completely; the dirty water is vacuumed into a tank on board and can be filtered and recycled. The runway surface itself remains undamaged.
Which Equipment Does KAMAT Supply for Hydro Blasting?
KAMAT supplies complete systems from a single source: KAMJET pump units with diesel or electric drive as trailer, container or skid versions, high-pressure plunger pumps up to 4,000 bar and 10,500 l/min, and the matching jetting tools such as surface cleaners, the pipe cleaner Tornado, the jetting guns KSP and DumpGun and the rotating lance RotoLance. The modular design allows pump, unit and tool to be configured for the critical pressure of the specific task and reconfigured when tasks change.
What are the Advantages of Hydro Blasting?
The jet works with plain water, so no chemicals enter the wastewater and no residues remain on the surface. Because the working pressure is set below the critical pressure of the substrate, coatings and deposits are removed while the base material stays intact; this is the reason hydro blasting is used on rebar in concrete, on ship hulls and on runway surfaces. The process water can be collected, filtered and reused, which reduces water consumption on large jobs.
Get Advice on Hydro Blasting
Describe your hydro blasting task via the contact form and you will receive a specific configuration proposal for pump, unit and tool; the Pump Finder and the Nozzle Calculator help with an initial preselection.
Frequently Asked Questions about Hydro Blasting
Hydro blasting is the removal of coatings, deposits, and material using a high-pressure water jet at pressures from 300 to 4,000 bar. It is also known as high-pressure water jetting or water blasting and works without chemicals or abrasives.
The required pressure depends on the critical pressure of the material to be removed. Surface cleaning starts at around 300 bar, paint stripping typically requires approximately 2,000 bar, and selective concrete removal uses the upper range of up to 4,000 bar. Above the critical pressure, a higher flow rate increases the material removal rate.
Sandblasting removes material using abrasive particles and roughens or erodes the substrate. Hydro blasting uses plain water below the critical pressure of the base material, leaves no embedded abrasive residues, and produces no dust. For selected applications, an abrasive can be added to the water jet.
Yes. The process uses plain water without chemical cleaning agents, so no chemicals enter the wastewater. The process water can be collected, filtered, and reused, making hydro blasting an environmentally responsible cleaning method.
KAMAT supplies high-pressure plunger pumps in eleven sizes with operating pressures up to 4,000 bar and flow rates up to 10,500 l/min, KAMJET pump units with diesel or electric drives, and jetting tools such as surface cleaners, pipe cleaners, jetting guns, and rotating lances.
