Entropy Solutions develops an alternative to dry ice

MINNEAPOLIS Often used at Halloween parties to turn fruit punch into witches’ brew, drug companies also use it to keep their products cold during shipment.

But the use of dry ice comes with some problems: It can’t be reused, and it emits carbon dioxide, which is both environmentally unfriendly and subject to government restrictions.

Minneapolis-based Entropy Solutions announced this week that it had developed PureTemp, an alternative to dry ice that can be used more than 20,000 times without thermal degradation, keeps products at a temperature of negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit and produces zero emissions.

“We have high-value, sensitive products that must be shipped within the deep-frozen temperature range to maintain efficacy and were looking for a solution that addressed the adverse effects of dry ice while providing a more cost-effective, environmentally friendly option,” Amgen senior manager for engineering Donnie Wilson said in an Entropy Solutions statement. “We have been very pleased with PureTemp’s performance – early results demonstrate that, when used in the Greenbox Pallet Shipper, it maintains our required temperature while our packages are in transit.”