NSF program hypos engineering education The National Science Foundation (NSF) is spreading around $10 mil lion to U.S. schools to improve the quality of science and engineering education. One New Jersey school that is receiving some of the money says the project will produce a per manent change in the content of its entire introductory engineering pro gram. The NSF program, called "Project Cause" ("Comprehensive Assistance to Undergraduate Science Educa tion"), provided New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) with about $250,000, about half of the $500,000 that the school expects to spend on the three-year project. The money will be used to examine the basic en gineering program given to freshmen and sophomores, to redesign that program, and to use the redesigned program throughout the school within a few years. Engineering is the largest single program at NJIT. According to dean of engineering Frederick Lehman, changes in the NJIT engineering program are needed because of changing abilities of new students; changes in the needs of industry; the change in social and economic background of the average NJIT student, and a need for broader experience for engineering gradu ates. NJIT will launch the project by analyzing what is now taught at the school and at other engineering schools. Next, it will sort out what is essential for engineering students in their first two years plus what desir able abilities students can learn dur ing this period. Once the evaluation process is complete, the school plans to incorporate its findings into a permanent curriculum for freshmen and sophomores. D
Blow-molded plastics set for big growth Blow-molded plastics are emerging from their hibernation of the past few years and are poised for accelerated growth that will triple annual con sumption to about 3 billion lb by 1985. That's the gist of a new report on blow molding issued last month by Business Communications Co., Stamford, Conn. BCC blames resin shortages and general economic stagnation for blow moldings' dormancy between 1973 and 1975, when blow-molded bottle output managed little more than to hold its own. Now, says BCC, blow
molding is ready to fly in new direc tions. BCC estimates that consumption of blow-molding resin will double from last year's 1 billion lb to about 2 billion lb in 1980. It will continue upward to the 3 billion lb mark by 1985. Bottle production, of course, fig ures heavily in blow moldings' future. In 1975, more than 8 billion bottles were blow molded; some 2.5 billion of them were milk containers. BCC estimates that by 1980 plastic bottle production will reach 15 billion units. Part of this growth will come from biaxially oriented barrier con tainers penetrating the soft drink market. But the company takes a more conservative view than most. It says that startup delays will hold soft drink bottle production down until 1980, although the market potential is close to 4 billion units. But there is no denying the poten tial of biaxially oriented bottles. Their light weight makes relatively expen sive barrier resins economically via ble. Properties of relatively low-cost
polypropylene are improved enough so that it now can compete strongly in polyvinyl chloride markets. Blow-molded polypropylene con sumption will be hampered for a while by lack of capacity. But, as ca pacity expands, growth is bound to come, says BCC. The use of barrier resins and new technology for composite containers will increase plastics' penetration into markets now held by glass, such as toiletries and cosmetics. The possible exception will be containers for fra grances. But BCC picks the 55-gal drum as the blow-molded product that will show the sharpest growth rate in use. This application likely will grow about 37% per year through 1985. By then, pails and drums probably will be the second largest consumer of blow-molded packaging resins. But their 418 million lb still will keep them a distant second behind food and beverage containers. By 1985, food and beverage containers will re quire 1.6 billion lb of blow-molding resins. D
EPA delays lead phase-i ait in gasoline The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed the implemen tation of its program to phase out the use of lead additives in gasoline. The agency says that if the program were to proceed as originally scheduled, there would be serious gas shortages in the summers of 1977 and 1978. Under the regulations first issued in 1973 and challenged in courts ever since, the average amount of lead used in gasoline would be limited to a maximum of 1.4 grams per gal in 1976,1 gram per gal in 1977,0.8 gram per gal in 1978, and 0.5 gram per gal by Jan. 1,1979. Under the amended regulations, the 1.4 gram-per-gal and the 1 gramper-gal standards have been deleted. The 0.8 gram-per-gal standard will remain in effect but will be suspended if the refiner can show that he has taken sufficient action in procuring and installing equipment that will ensure his achievement of the final standard of 0.5 gram per gal. This last standard will take effect Oct. 1, 1979. EPA's decision came after exten sive meetings with the oil industry. In August, for instance, the National Petroleum Refiners Association along with the Petrochemical Energy Group and others, informed admin istrator Russell E. Train that refinery expansion and conversion needed to meet the regulations won't be ready for another three years. Meanwhile, they explained, reducing the lead
I level down to 1 gram per gal could cause a gasoline shortage exceeding 500,000 bbl per day in 1977, which "would rival the shortage experienced during the Arab oil embargo." This shortage would in turn reduce food production. Further, the NPRA group pointed out to Train that discontinuing the use of lead would mean increased use of aromatics in gasoline. Such aromatics are essential raw materials for plastics, rubbers, and other products. Aromatics are being produced at full capacity at present and any increased supply to refineries would have drastic implications on petrochemical producers, they added. The amended regulations are not going unchallenged. The Natural Resources Defense Council is cono
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Original phase-out schedule for lead could trigger serious gasoline shortages Oct. 4, 1976C&EN
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