For many years customers, distributors and end users of Nordic Ice Gels have asked for alternatives to current disposal methods. Unfortunately, current formulation prohibited most of these avenues.
The development of the Nordic Ice Drain Safe™ gels has been years in the making, including partnerships with municipalities, third-party researchers and distributors. In addition to new research, testing standards were pioneered in order to accurately test and qualify the newly created gels to ensure the new product met Nordic Ice’s high standards.
Nordic Ice enlisted the help of a third-party research organization to help with identifying the testing questions as well as contacting and interacting with wastewater treatment organizations. Meanwhile Nordic Ice’s engineering team was searching for, and testing new thickening products, to meet the strict needs of the product. After several months of working in the lab and with the research team, a clear path forward was developed.
Testing of these products posed another challenging area, it seems that no one had undertaken this type of testing before and no standard criteria had been set. Nordic Ice in partnership with third-party wastewater treatment entities pioneered testing methods to test the drain ability of the new products and establish a criteria for future development. After months of testing the drain ability of the product, the thermal performance, the toxicity of the raw materials, Nordic had developed a drain friendly, high quality, thermally efficient product to offer the gel refrigerant market place.
Nordic Ice Drain Safe™ can be disposed of down a common household drain, but Nordic Ice recommends reuse of the packs as many times as possible. The film structure is very robust and will stand up to several reuses. Once the film has met its life, simply thaw the frozen pack on a water resistant surface, clip the corner, and flush the contents down the sink with water. The material will flow through the standard waste stream and the >99.5% water-based formula will be reclaimed for reuse again and again.
