Performance Comparison of Gel and Ice Coolants for Cold Chain Packaging

Temperature-sensitive products are often shipped in an insulated container with a coolant to maintain the interior temperature at a certain temperature threshold. In this study, the performance of two popular coolants, gel and ice, were compared using trendline data. Comparison using collected data on some cases were made so that phase changes could be observed, which was explained by a study of gel latent heat of fusion that was also performed. The amount of 2.09, 4.19, and 6.28 pounds of each coolant were placed in a 12x12x11.5” expanded polystyrene insulated foam container with a 2-inch wall thickness. In each case, the sealed container was put in a chamber with temperatures of 60-, 90-, and 113-degrees Fahrenheit. Overall, the gel coolant performance was slightly better than the ice coolant.