The Greater Missouri (STL) Section and the Refractory Ceramics Division of The American Ceramic Society will sponsor the 61st Annual Symposium on Refractories on the theme “Refractories for Non-Ferrous Applications” on March 31 – April 1, 2026, and a kickoff event (TBD) will be held the evening of March 30, 2026. The meeting will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Hilton St. Louis Airport Hotel. Co-program chairs are Dan Gower of Refractory Minerals and Kimberley Peterson of Christy Refractories.
Partial list to be presented…
“Hydrogen Resistance of Synthetic Alumina Based Castables at 1150°C and 1400°C”
Andreas Buhr1, Sebastian Klaus1, Stefan Kulper2, John Holloway3, Isabelle Henn4, Jerry Dutton5
1Almatis GmbH, Germany, 2Almatis B.V., Netherlands, 3Almatis, Inc. USA, 4Universitat Koblenz, Germany and 5Stourbridge, UK
“Rheology-Performance Correlation in Microsilica Suspension-Based Dry-Gunning Material: Evidence from industrial trial”
Izak Cameron, Materials Innovation, Elkem Silicon Product Development, Norway
“Refractories for Smelting and Melting of Copper, Titanium, Aluminum and other Applications”
Ruth Engel, Refractory Consulting Services
“Refractory Raw Materials for Non-Ferrous Applications – Binders” (1st Part)
“Refractory Raw Materials for Non-Ferrous Applications – Aggregates” (2nd Part)
Chris Parr, Christoph Wöhrmeyer, Scot Graddick, Frederic Lacoue, Jean-Michel Auvray, Imerys
“Phosphates in Non-Ferrous Refractory Systems: Roles and Insights”
Simon Horn, Chemische Fabrik Budenheim KG, Germany
“Chromium-Free Refractories for Copper Converter”
Somnath Mandal1 and Ilona Jastrazębska2
1Steel Flow Control Group and 2AGH University of Krakow, Poland
“Development of Refractory Aggregate from Secondary Aluminum Salt Dross”
Paul Ormond, PHOcon, LLC
“A Review of Corundum Formation in Aluminum Furnaces”
Roger Smith, Plibrico Company, LLC
“The Importance of Back-up Insulation for Refractory Applications in the Aluminum Industry”
Tom Viverito and Tom Steele, Morgan Advanced Materials
“Refractory Performance in Evolving SRU Conditions”
Daniel Starr, HarbisonWalker International and J. Jacob Dupree, J.T. Thorpe & Son, Inc.
“NIOBIA Additions for the Development of Special Aluminus, Insights from Computational Thermodynamics”
Paschoal Bonadia, AC Tech
“Nb2O5 Additions for the Development of Special Aluminas – Insights from Computational Thermodyamics”
Vania Regina Salvini, Solve HTC
The Tabletop Expo format is the same as in previous years, with each vendor having a 6-foot table to display products and literature. The charge is $400, which will be used to cover the cost of the Expo Hall and provide an open two hour bar during the “Meet and Greet” for the attendees prior to the dinner buffet on Wednesday evening.
Please note that a meeting of the ASTM International C-8 Committee on Refractories will be held on Wednesday afternoon on April 1st, 2026 starting at 1:00pm. Contact Melissa Marcinowski at mmarcinowski@astm.org for more information on this meeting.
The pre-registration fee of $300.00 or on-site registration fee of $350.00 ($150.00 for Emeritus/Seniors and $50.00 for students) includes the cost of your bound copy of the Symposium Technical Papers, Continental Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Coffee Breaks.
A block of rooms has been set aside for the evenings of March 29 – April 2, 2026, at the Hilton (314) 426-5500. The rate is $139.00 for a single or double. To receive the $139 rate, mention the Group Name: St. Louis Section of The American Ceramic Society or Group Code: ACS when making your reservation. The web address to make online reservations is: St. Louis Section of the American Ceramic Society Booking Link
All hotel reservations must be received on or before February 26, 2026
For further information please contact Patty Smith at tel: (573) 341-6265 or email: psmith@mst.edu.
