PET 2320
Colorants for Plastics
4 Lec 4 Credits
Prerequisite or Corerequisite required: PET 1240 or Work Experience
Terra Community College has recognized a need for color education in the industry, not only in our local area, but throughout the country and the world. To address this need, the college has founded the International Institute for the Coloring of Plastics, a new phase in this unique programs history. The goal for the Institute is to become the worlds number one source for education and information about the coloring of plastics. The first project for the Institute is to convert Terra Community Colleges Coloring of Plastics Program from a strictly on-campus program to include distance and hybrid courses. This course is the second installment of this project and is part of a three-course certificate titled: Color for Processors. PET 2320 is a study of colorants used in the coloring of plastic products. The course will present the properties of the main types of organic and inorganic pigments, as well as solvent dyes, used to color the many different polymers used in the plastics industry. The basic chemistry required to understand colorant interactions will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on the selection criterion used to select colorants for a given application. Properties examined will include: heat stability; light-fastness; weatherability; dispersability; chemical stability; and coloring strength. Laboratory exercises will be conducted to supplement lecture material, including a project to evaluate the properties of an assigned colorant.
The course consists of guest speakers from industry lecturing on their area of expertise. There is also a lab component in the on-campus course. Both lecture and lab will be filmed and sent to students via the Internet. The course will be delivered so that you can take it right on your computer.
The course will use PowerPoint slides to augment the lecture sessions and the written material in the course text: Coloring of Plastics, Fundamentals, 2nd Ed., Edited by Robert A. Charvat. Lessons and assignments will become available and will be due the same day the following week. The software that will be used to deliver the course is called MICROSOFT Class Server. Once you sign up for the course you will be given instructions on how to connect to the course material.
