Patent ID: 8016949

Claim:
A process to clean a substrate comprising a step of subjecting the substrate to an air-water spray, generated using a nozzle (N) comprising an air passage (PA) and a water passage (PW), wherein air is greater than 90% and up to 99.95% by volume of the spray, the air velocity is greater than 80 m/s and wherein outlet port for air (OPA) and outlet port for water (OPW) in the nozzle (N) are offset from one another with respect to the substrate; characterised in that a. the outlet port for water (OPW) is positioned away from the surface of the substrate (FS) relative to the outlet port for air (OPA); b. the offset distance between the outlet port for air and the outlet port for water is in a range of 0.5 to 5 mm; and c. the air pressure at the exit of the nozzle is in the range of 15-45 psia.