Shipper for temperature-sensitive products Pharmaceuticals, biologics, and blood supplies, as well as food products requiring carefully controlled temperature during distribution throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, are all potential applications for the Greenbox thermal management system from Entropy Solutions (www.entropysolutionsinc.com). In this year’s Greener Package Awards, Greenbox took home not only a Greener Package Award, but it was also selected as Innovator of the Year.
Entropy touts Greenbox as the first temperature-controlled shipper to be “powered” by a 100% bio-based, nontoxic, and biodegradable phase-change material called PureTemp. The material is a specially engineered vegetable-oil derivative that controls temperatures to extremes ranging from as cold as dry ice to as hot as coffee. The patented phase-change materials simultaneously absorb and release heat. PureTemp is contained in “E-Packs,” and as one E-Pack liquefies, another solidifies, providing a thermostat effect until the package reaches its destination.
The award-winning package maintains a payload’s temperature for more than five days and addresses the issue of product spoilage, which causes the life science industry alone more than $3 billion per year in lost product, explains Entropy. “Because it [Greenbox] can be shipped ground (versus overnight express) and is reusable, it helps customers save more than 65 percent on shipping and distribution costs,” the company says.
