Front Cover: Development of Sustainable MgO–C Refractories Using MgO–C Recyclates and a Novel Eco‐Friendly Fructose–Tannin Binder Crosslinked With Citric Acid (Adv. Eng. Mater. 10/2026)

Recycling of Refractories The present special issue focuses in a comprehensive way on selected results covering the strategies for recycling and upcycling of industrial refractory materials. One part of the research articles focuses on the entire chain of recycling from the research of the starting recycled materials, the understanding of their interaction with fresh materials and environmental friendly binder systems, identification of their thermomechanical and thermochemical properties during application in contact with steel/slag systems. Second part of the research articles pursues an upcycling approach to develop a novel anode material for the molten salt electrolysis of aluminum based on metal/ceramic composites, as well as to reflect expectations and limitations of such principle concepts including also functional properties, particularly the electrical and the thermal conductivity. The cover shows corrosion testing of recycled MgO-C refractories in a steel casting simulator. Further information on development of sustainable MgO-C refractories based on recyclates as well as on corrosion testing procedure can be found in the Research Article by Dinesh Kumar Gunasekar, Jana Hubálková, Steffen Dudczig, Gert Schmidt, Florian Kerber, Thomas Schemmel, Patrick Gehre, and Christos G. Aneziris (10.1002/adem.202502892). Photo credit: Steffen Dudczig, IKFVW, TUBAF.