Europe has initiated a transition from a linear towards a circular and resource efficient society and the unique characteristics of plastics allow them to make a great contribution towards this societal transformation.

Christopher C. White, Kenneth M. White, James E. Pickett (eds.), William Andrew Publishing/Elsevier, Oxford, UK, 2017, 342 p., hardcover, ISBN 978-0-323-49776-3, ebook, ISBN 978-0-323-49777-0, USD 250.00

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) has presented its annual awards for outstanding contributions to the plastics industry to three individuals during Antec 2018 at the NPE2018. The International Award was presented to Philip David Coates, professor at the University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK, and director of the Polymer Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC), to honour his lifetime achievement. 

Siluria Technologies and Saudi Aramco Technologies have executed a multi-plant technology license for the integration of Siluria's natural gas-to-olefins technology with Aramco's high-olefins cracking process technology. Siluria's proprietary technology, based on oxidative coupling of methane chemistry, is available for license in stand-alone configurations, as well as integration within a wide range of existing process plants, including steam crackers, propane dehydrogenation units, methanol plants and oil refineries, Siluria explained.

Shandong Wonfull Petrochemical Co. has selected Honeywell UOP's C3 Oleflex propane dehydrogenation technology for the production of 250,000 t/y of polymer-grade propylene at its facility in the Huantai Economic Development Zone, Shandong Province, China.

The German Rubber Society (Deutsche Kautschuk-Gesellschaft – DKG) has elected Dr. Cristina Bergmann, Head of H&R Research Laboratory at Hansen & Rosenthal, as Chairman of the DKG, Prof. Dr. Andreas Limper, Managing Director of Harburg-Freudenberger Maschinenbau, as First Deputy Chairman, and Dr. Hans-Martin Issel, Managing Director of Unimatec Chemicals Europe, as Second Deputy Chairman for the term of office from 2018 to 2021.

Sabu Thomas, Didier Rouxel, Deepalekshmi Ponnamma (eds.), William Andrew Publishing/Elsevier, Oxford, UK, 2016, 498 p., hardcover, EUR 180.00, ISBN 978-0-323-40183-8, ebook, EUR 180.00, ISBN 978-0-323-41391-6

John Sawaya has been appointed as the new President and CEO of Arlanxeo USA LLC and Board Member of Arlanxeo USA Holdings LLC, effective from 1 February 2018. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arlanxeo Canada Inc. Sawaya succeeds Antonis Papadourakis, who has served as President and CEO for both Lanxess Corporation and Arlanxeo USA, since the Arlanxeo joint venture was established in April 2016. Papadourakis will continue to work in this position for Lanxess.

Richard Hawkins, Knut Blind, Robert Page (eds.), Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., Cheltenham, UK, 2017, 456 p., hardcover, GBP 140.00, ISBN 978-1-78347-007-5, ebook, ISBN: 978-1-78347-008-2

Rubber businesses should devise sustainable development strategies to maximise opportunities generated by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), experts said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on 14 June 2018.