Secop BD Compressors Deliver Reliable Temperature Control to Cold Chain Container
Global demand for biological-based drugs is increasing and with it, the demand for reliable, efficient, and cost-effective temperature-controlled transportation. Today’s high value pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biologics, and other temperature-dependent materials require an unbroken cold chain from production to patient. They must also be capable to withstand wide fluctuations of ambient temperatures. To meet this demand, Cool Containers – Ohio (USA) recently introduced the PharmaPort 360™, an innovative, temperature-controlled freight container that uses Secop BD direct current compressors distributed by Danfoss.
The PharmaPort 360™ exceeds rigorous health-care industry standards for temperature-sensitive compliance during transportation.
Until recently, manufacturers turned to a variety of shipping options that relied on gel packs, dry ice, and operating compressors to effectively cool their temperature-sensitive products during transport.
The PharmaPort 360™ container maintains strict temperatures, allowing it to tolerate a significantly wider range of extreme ambient temperature changes while eliminating the need for gel packs, dry ice, or compressors that run during transport.
The Secop BD compressors operate prior to shipment, freezing the container’s cold plate so that cold energy can be stored and used during transport to maintain specified temperatures.
The innovative cargo container assures safe, door-to-door transport for optimum viability of contents upon arrival. Rather than moving from one cold transportation unit to the next, the container itself is moved, without the need for a refrigerated truck or temporary refrigerated holding locations.
Approved by the FAA
Cool Containers has secured approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for use of the PharmaPort 360™ in commercial and military air transport. Because the unit’s compressors and heaters are inactive during transport, the container is approved for use in lower decks of wide-body passenger aircrafts, and can also be loaded into upper-deck positions of narrow and wide-body freighter aircrafts.
In addition to FAA approval, the PharmaPort 360™ meets or exceeds World Health Organization “Cold Chain Storage and Distribution” guidelines. The containers are available from UPS Temperature True, the company’s dedicated temperature-sensitive service.
Efficient and Reliable
Cool Containers are pleased with the energy performance of the unit and the compressors that support it. Cool Containers’ energy usage studies have shown that charging the PharmaPort system (with the Secop compressors running) over a 12-hour period requires less than six kilowatt-hours, or only about $0.50 worth of electricity. Choosing Secop BD350GH compressors distributed by Danfoss to be part of the solution was not difficult. Cool Containers was looking for the best, most reliable transport compressor – and Cool Container already has a good experience with the Danfoss product line.
The compressors are tailored for mobile transport and are unbeatable when it comes to dealing with changing climatic conditions and vibrations under harsh road conditions around the world. They feature silent operation, a compact, lightweight design, speed/capacity control, and energy optimization for efficient and reliable performance, which is so important to the design team.
(Copyright Danfoss EnVisioneeringSM 2012)
