Requirement of Thermal Packaging
Thermally insulated boxes are required to store temperature sensitive items such as medicine, vaccine, blood, body cells etc. mainly for transportation. The temperature of the stored items has to be maintained within certain temperature range for time periods lasting up to couple of days and in such cases thermal packaging solutions are used.
Benefits of EPS Thermal packaging in cold chain shipping
Logistics is an important part of any business. Many a times there is a need to transport goods and products over long distance which needs to be stored at a very low temperature or at least between a minimal ranges of temperature at all times to keep them from getting expired. eg. Many of the medicines have to be stored between a temperature range of 2 to 8 °C. So the medicine has to be packaged from a warehouse and to be transported to a local pharmacy and the temperature should be within 2 to 8°C until it reaches the destination. This can be achieved through the use of Expanded Polystyrene Foam packaging (also known as EPS Packaging) in Cold Chain Packaging and shipping process. There are many other materials used and EPS is only one of them and probably most popular type.
Cold Elements in a thermal packaging
The Constructional structure of a thermal box is that all walls will be made with a thermal insulation material such as EPS. Once the box is closed, it is thermally insulated against external temperature. Also cooled gel packs are kept inside the box for maintaining the temperature for a long duration. The number of gel packs to be used are defined by the manufacturer and many manufacturers provide slots on the side walls for inserting these gel packs.
How does EPS packaging help?
EPS Packaging uses very carefully prepared industry grade foams. These foams are both lightweight and helps in protection of the goods from external damage resulting due to falls or other physical shocks during the transport. Foam is also known to be highly insulating against external temperature fluctuation. This makes EPS Packaging an integral part of the Cold Chain Shipping process. If we take a concise look at the benefits being provided by EPS packaging technology to the Cold Chain Shipping process we will find the following major benefits –
- The cost of the logistics is reduced remarkably since EPS Foam costs much less than other insulating materials. Insulation is an important part of maintaining low temperature.
- The weight of the package is reduced drastically as EPS foams are very lightweight as compared to their volume.
- Thermal protection can be provided to the product being carried.
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EPS Foam has brought about a revolutionary change in the Cold Chain Shipping process and has helped the industry to grow manifolds. It has not only served these logistics supply units with a much needed source of oxygen but also helped in reducing the cost of transportation by billions of dollars every year. With EPS foams now making shipping of temperature sensitive as well as fragile products over long distance is possible without any damage, the loss in transit has also been remarkably reduced
Why is it known as Passive Packaging & Passive boxes?
These boxes without any external power supply are known as passive boxes since they protect the temperature within itself and does not generate a low temperature. All kinds of boxes which does not use an external energy source are known as passive boxes
Pallet shippers / Insulated Pallet shipping boxes
The pallet shipping boxes are similar in principle, but are much bigger in the shape of normal pallets. Instead of stacking individual boxes on a pallet, a pallet box can be used to store the medicines in itself
Testing, Qualification, Validation & Temperature mapping study of EPS boxes
The boxes are tested at our factory under the specified operating conditions. eg. If a box is certified to maintain 2to8°C for 48 hours, under an ambient temperature of 30°C, this means that the box is tested under such conditions and at the end of 48 hours, the temperature within the box remained within 2 to 8°C. Also if customer requires, a passive box to be tested in his specified operating environment, same can be carried out under simulated or actual operational conditions.
Models of Thermally insulated boxes
Type TimeSaver 24 Mini TimeSaver 24 Small TimeSaver 24 Medium TimeSaver 48 Medium TimeSaver 48 Large TimeSaver 72 Large CRT TimeSaver 72 Large Model No.: FEPS00671 FEPS00349 FEPS00630 FEPS00351 FEPS00353 FPU00074 FEPS00355 Temperature Performance Range 2-8 degrees C 2-8 degrees C 2-8 degrees C 2-8 degrees C 2-8 degrees C 2-8 degrees C 2-8 degrees C Time Performance Range Up to 24 Hours Up to 24 Hours Up to 24 Hours Up to 48 hours Up to 48 hours Up to 72 hours Up to 72 hours Insulating Materials EPS Panels EPS Panels EPS Panels EPS Panels EPS Panels 3" EPS Panels EPS and VIP Panel Phase Change Materials Cryo-Gel™ gel packs Cryo-Gel™ gel packs Cryo-Gel™ gel packs Cryo-Gel packs Phase 5™ & Cryo-Gel Packs Phase 5 and Cryo-Gel packs Phase 5 and Cryo-Gel packs Insulation Thickness 1.5 2 2 2 2 1.5 3 Payload Box Dimensions N/Acm x
N/Acm x
N/Acm22.9cm x
15.2cm x
7.6cm25.4cm x
20.3cm x
12.7cm22.9cm x
17.8cm x
17.8cm45.7cm x
20.3cm x
15.2cm27cm x
27cm x
12.1cm26.7cm x
26.7cm x
13.3cm