New solid phase-change material, new passive packaging win industry awards

At the just-concluded IQPC Global Forum (Boston, Sept. 26-30) the show organizers highlighted two newly introduced products for life sciences packaging with an excellence award for innovation.

Cold Chain Technologies introduced its Koolit Advanced PCM Gel, a solid phase-change material said to provide more uniform thermal payload protection and better break resistance, avoiding the leakage that sometimes occurs with liquid PCMs. The solid state also provides a degree of modularity that simplifies packaging procedures on the shipping floor, according to the company.

Most PCMs are a gelled liquid, containing either petrochemicals or vegetable oil derivatives; however, frozen water is still a frequently used source of cold for temperature-controlled shipping. TJ Rizzo, SVP at the company, says that the solid form provides more consistent protection and has been in demand from pharma companies for some time.

Modularity is also a feature of the other award winner, Sonoco ThermoSafe with its Certis packaging platform. The previously announced product line is specified around 3 types of gel bricks and eight box configurations to create 24 shipping solutions across a variety of temperature ranges, and for durations as long as 120 hours. These configuration parameters simplify the workflow where multiple types of shipments are being handled, as well as easier personnel training and more consistent operational performance.