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By Louis J. Trostel

Refractories, called the Hidden Industry by The Refractories Institute, provide the temperature and chemically resistant linings for the multitude of vessels that are used today in high temperature processes ranging from giant iron-making blast furnaces to industrial incinerators to petrochemical cracking units to the smallest furnaces used by the jewelry trade. While these refractory linings are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of these processes, the linings are almost always on the inside of the vessels and thus hidden from the eyes of the public. Refractories are defined in Standard C71 of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), titled "Standard Definitions of Terms Relating to Refractories," as "nonmetallic materials having those chemical and physical properties that make them applicable for structures, or as components of systems, that are exposed to environments above 1 000°F (538°C)." This criterion of ability to withstand exposure to environments above 538OC is the critical distinction separating refractories from other ceramics, fibers, and coatings applicable only at lower temperatures. In addition to resisting temperature, the refractories must with- stand abrasion, chemical and slag attack, resist thermal shock, and carry sustained structural stresses at high operating temperatures for as long as years. The most common methods of classifying refractories are by forming method and composition. First are the traditional formed and fired bricks, batts, and the associated multitude of special shapes. These refractories are usually formed at room temperature, dried, and then fired to high temperatures to develop the final properties desired. Other formed refractories are chemically bonded or resin or tar bonded. To complete the formed refractory matrix, some fired refractory bricks and shapes are subsequently impregnated with resins or tars. Physical dimensions of these formed refractories are classified into two general categories: standard sizes and special shapes. The standard sizes are those in common usage in the United States described in ASTM Standard C909 "Dimensions of a Modular Series of Refractory Brick and Shapes" based on the 38 mm basic module as described in ASTM Standard C861 "Determining Metric Dimensions of Standard Series Refractory Brick and Shapes." The most common size is the "9-inch straight" 228 x 114 x 64 mm (9 x 4 ½ x 2 ½ in.) of the "2 ½ -inch" series or 228 x 114 x 76 mm (9 x 4 ½ x 3 in.) of the "3-inch" series. Bricks of nonstandard sizes are referred to as special shapes. Their use is required in specific furnaces for particular requirements or applications. In addition there is the large and growing group of refractories sold as unshaped mixtures that may be formed into their final shapes at the application site. These unshaped mixtures are sometimes referred to as specialties. The mixtures are prepared to be hydraulically cast, plastic or wet rammed, dry rammed, or dry vibrated into their final shapes. Some are designed to be projected through nozzles (or gunned) onto their forms. The refractory mortars used to lay up the shaped refractories fall into this group referred to as specialties. Prepared refractory grains also are sold. These are usually calcined or fused materials that are subsequently crushed and sized to a variety of specific carefully controlled grain sizes or size distributions. These grains include calcined fire clay, dead burned magnesite, periclase (fused magnesia), dead burned dolomite, kyanite, tabular and fused aluminas, fused zirconia, fused mullite, and calcined alumina-magnesia spinel. The primary composition groups of refractories are the 1) alumino-silicate refractories made largely from fire clay and high- alumina materials, 2) silica refractories made from quartzites and ganisters, and 3) basic refractories from magnesia (or magnesite) and chromia (also referred to as chrome ore), alone and in combination, and dolomite. Special refractories include carbon, zirconia, zircon, high purity alumina, mullite, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and some borides. In addition there are groups of special insulating refractories.

Jan 1, 1994

By Harry M. Mikami

Refractories are heat-resistant, generally nonmetallic materials used as the linings of furnaces or high temperature vessels in the steel, iron, nonferrous metals, glass, cement, lime, ceramic, chemical, petroleum, paper, and power and heat generation industries. Refractories must have structural strength at high temperatures but also, in many applications, must simultaneously resist chemical-physical corrosion-erosion from stags, metals, granular solids, or gases. Among the major uses are the pyrometallurgical processes for producing iron, steel, copper, aluminum, nickel, lead, zinc, etc. Rotary cement kilns, glass tanks, refineries, utility boilers, chemical and ceramic (including refractories) plants, and a myriad of other smaller scale users employ refractories in the high temperature parts of their operations. Thermal, chemical, and structural conditions under which refractories are used differ widely so there is a great variety of refractories to fill the various needs. Two major classifications are the "basic" and "acid" types. Basic refractories include magnesia and chromite, singly and in combinations, dolomite, and forsterite (olivine). The acid category includes aluminosilicates, alumina, and silica. There are a number of other specialized types such as carbon, graphite, silicon carbide, zircon, and zirconia that have important applications but are used in much smaller amounts than the major categories. Physically, refractories can be divided into bricks and shaped products on the one hand and unshaped or monolithic products (also termed specialties) on the other. There are many further subclassifications and divisions, a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this chapter; see Refs. 2 and 9. Raw materials for the principal basic refractories are magnesia and chrome ore. Magnesia, generally termed magnesite or periclase, is obtained mainly from seawater or saline brines extraction, but substantial amounts are produced from mined magnesite (MgCO3). Dolomite (CaCO3•MgCO3), another important basic refractory, is obtained entirely from mined sources. Acid refractory raw materials are: fire clays, flint clays, kaolin, and other natural clay minerals; aluminosilicate minerals such as kyanite, andalusite, sillimanite, pyrophyllite, bauxitic clays; calcined refractory grade bauxite, alumina from the Bayer process for the alumina group; and quartzitic rocks for silica refractories. The total value of all refractories shipped in the United States in 1974 was $989 million, a record to that date. Of this amount, about 73% represents bricks and shaped products and 27% is in nonshaped or monolithic products which comprise mortars, cements, castables, plastics, and ramming and gunning mixes. Fig. 15.4E.1 shows the rising value of all U.S. refractory shipments in the period 1948-1974. Values of brick and shapes paralleled

Jan 1, 1976

By R. P. Heuer, Paul M. Tyler

THE literature on refractories, although fairly extensive, is so scattered through books and periodicals as to be difficult of access to the general reader and most of the individual papers serve merely to illuminate some particular phase of the industry. Two general treatises by American authors8.16 are available, also the somewhat older works by a well-known British authority, 12,13 but these make their appeal to the technically minded ceramic engineer. Another small group of publications deals with the use of refractories, mainly in the iron and steel industry.1, 3,5,6,11,15 Raw materials utilized by the refractories industry have been covered by sundry books and articles. For the relatively nontechnical reader and economist, however, there appears to be no single review that purports to describe the industry as a whole. Furnace linings and other products that are classed as "refractories" are designed primarily to withstand high temperatures but this important property is by no means the only requirement; a suitable refractory material must likewise withstand slagging (chemical' action), abrasion (physical wear), and spalling, as well as the various other stresses and physical phenomena induced by heat, of which softening or incipient melting is only one phase. Nevertheless, subject to these highly practical considerations, the definition of a refractory material is based upon temperature resistance. Broadly speaking, any material that shows obvious signs of fusion after being heated slowly to 1500°C (2732°F) cannot be classified as a refractory material. The characteristic properties and requirements of refractory materials are conveniently summarized in Fig 1, prepared on the American Refractories Institute Fellowship at Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most of the factors of service and properties of refractories given in this chart are interdependent and are greatly affected in degree by the functions of temperature and time. The factors in the chart are believed to cover the commoner questions.

Jan 1, 1949

By James A. Crookston, William D. Fitzpatrick

Committee C-8 of the American Society for Testing and Materials defines refractories as "material, usually nonmetallic, used to withstand high temperature," and it defines the term refractoriness thus, "in refractories, the capability of maintaining the desired degree of chemical and physical identity at high temperatures and in the environment and conditions of use.” The ability to withstand high temperatures is critical to classifying a material as a refractory. However, as the foregoing definition of "refractoriness" implies, the refractory material may be subjected to and is expected to resist not only high temperatures but a variety of other destructive forces incidental to its use. These include abrasion, impact, thermal shock, chemical attack, and high level loads at high temperatures. The various industrial applications of refractories represent an infinite variety of combinations and degrees of severity of these destructive forces, including high temperatures. Naturally, such a variety of application conditions leads to a need for a wide variety of refractory products to satisfy those conditions. The number of refractory products available is great enough that some form of classification is necessary to a discussion of refractories. Refractories may be classified in several ways, but the most suitable one is based on their general compositions and to lesser degrees on their physical condition and distinctive properties. The primary types of brick include aluminosilicate brick (fire clay and alumina), basic brick (magnesia and chrome ore, alone and in various combinations), silica brick, insulating brick, and special refractories (carbon, SiC, ZrO2, zircon, borides, and nitrides). Brick is, of course, preformed and usually is heat treated at high temperatures before use, but in some instances is unburned and/or chemically bonded, including the relatively new class of tar-bonded magnesia and/or dolomite brick. In addition to preformed refractories, another broad category includes the so-called specialty refractories, which are usually made in the same types as itemized for brick-bonding mortars and high temperature cements, hydraulic setting castables or refractory concrete, plastic firebrick, and ramming mixes. Refractory grains, such as fire clay and high alumina calcines, dead-burned magnesite and periclase, and dead-burned dolomite are also considered refractory products. Bricks are also classified on the basis of physical dimensions, as standard sizes and special shapes. The standard sizes are those which are of definite shape and design and are designated as 228.6 x 114.3 x 63.5 mm (9 x 4 ½ x 2 ½ in.) and 228.6 x 114.3 x 76.2 mm (9 x 4 ½ x 3 in.) straights and series. Bricks of nonstandard sizes are referred to as special shapes. These come about as a result of a particular need for a given furnace or for a particular application. Types and Classes of Refractories Fire Clay Refractories Classification: Fire clay refractories, as the name implies, are composed essentially of fire clay and/or calcined fire clay in varying proportions. The ASTM Standard Classification of Fireclay and High Alumina Refractory Brick, C27-70 (reapproved 1976), gives five classes of fire clay brick designated as super-

Jan 1, 1983

By C. Burton Clark, J. Spotts McDowell

Refractories are defined as "materials having the ability to retain their physical shapes and chemical identities when subjected to high temperatures," or as "nonmetallic materials suitable for the construction or lining of furnaces operated at high temperatures." While resistance to "high" temperatures is thus the primary requirement for refractory materials, it is by no means the sole requirement. They must be able to withstand thermal shock resulting from rapid heating or cooling; other stresses induced by temperature change; pressures from the weights of furnace parts or contents; mechanical wear (abrasion) resulting from movement of furnace contents; and chemical attack by heated solids, liquids, or gases. Refractories of many kinds are needed for the many and widely diversified industrial applications. Those in greatest demand are classified on the basis of composition or properties into a few main groups, known as alumina-silica, silica, basic and insulating refractories. In each of these groups there are several classes. In addition to those included in the main groups, there are various special refractories, including silicon carbide, carbon, zircon, zirconia, alumina, and several others. Alumina-silica refractories comprise two main divisions: fire clay and high-alumina. The alumina content of fire-clay refractories covers the range from about 45 pct to 18 pct, and the silica content from 50 pct to 80 pct. The alumina content of fired high-alumina refractories ranges from about 99 pct to 45 pct, and the silica content from about 0.5 pct to 50 pct. Silica refractories of the different classes contain 94 pct to 97 pct silica. Basic refractories include periclase (magnesite), chrome spinel, forsterite, and dolomite. Refractory materials, including insulating firebrick, are supplied mainly as preformed shapes. Other products include bonding mortars and high temperature cements, ramming mixtures, plastic firebrick, hydraulic setting castables, dead-burned grain magnesite, and dead-burned dolomite. Refractory brick are classified on the basis of their physical form as Standard Sizes and Special Shapes. The Standard Sizes are brick of certain definite sizes and relatively simple design which are used in sufficient amounts to permit quantity production. The brick most widely used are the standard 9 in. X 4 ½ in. X 2 ½in. and 9 in. X 4½in. X 3 in. straights and corresponding series of sizes. All brick of nonstandard dimensions are regarded as "special shapes." They include a wide variety of brick regularly used for specific services, such as baffle tile for boilers, checker brick for regenerators, and others; together with shapes of special design manufactured on particular orders from designs submitted by the user. Not included in the broad classifications of Standard Sizes and Special Shapes are several specific-service refractory products, usually made by companies which specialize in their manufacture, or in some cases by the consumers themselves. These products include

Jan 1, 1960

By R. S. Hutton

WHEN I had the honor of receiving an invitation to give the-Institute of Metals Lecture, it occurred to me that it might be of interest to review the advances which have been made in refractories, considering how important these materials of construction are in the carrying out of many metallurgical operations and what a large factor they represent in our costs of production. Frankly, I can claim no recent contact with the refractories industry and what little work I myself have been concerned with has been rather unorthodox in character. However, perhaps in consequence of this, I can approach the review without bias and include some suggestions which may prove stimulating or provocative to some of you, who have a more intimate knowledge of refractories and their uses than I Possess. It is neither possible nor necessary for me to survey the progress of industrial refractories, for this has been so thoroughly undertaken by others1-7 in recent publications. Perhaps the best way to get a broad picture of this progress is to compare the Faraday Society Symposium on Refractory Materials 20 years ago8, containing a report on one of the first attempts at standardized testing, with the American Society for Testing Materials Committee Report of February 1935. Suffice it to say, lest my provocative remarks be misunderstood, that I do appreciate that great advances have been made, particularly by companies that have established their own research laboratories and by universities and cooperative research institutes working for the common weal of groups of manufacturers or for national and international progress. The scientific study of the constitution diagrams of binary and ternary refractory oxides, which American workers have been foremost in under-taking, ? led by the work of the Geophysical Laboratory at Washington, has laid a firm foundation for the whole subject. It should be remem-bered, however, that to a much greater degree than with the constitution of metal alloys, the equilibrium conditions are so sluggishly arrived at

Jan 1, 1937

By M. Spreij, M. Hogenboom

Refractory lining performance of aluminium melting and holding furnaces and downtime due to refractory re-linings, are important parameters for increasing the aluminium output of a cast house and decreasing costs. The importance of refractory materials testing is illustrated by examples of improvements made in refractory lining concepts, quality control and introduction of alternative and newly developed materials. These examples also show that the information given by product definitions of refractory suppliers will in many cases be insufficient to judge the risks and benefits of using alternative materials.

Jan 1, 2004

By L. J. Davies

Refractories usage in furnaces for the extraction of nickel from both sulphides and lateritic ores is reviewed. Recent changes in raw materials and basic brick qualities developed to meet the increasing demands of existing and new processes are outlined. Examples of used brick examinations to establish mechanisms of wear are given. The importance of physical and chemical properties are discussed. The use of simulative laboratory testing to aid in refractories development and selection is described.

Jan 1, 1988

One major aim of the operation of Aberfoyle's matte fuming pilot plant was to assess refractories performance in the process working vessel, a SIROSMELT furnace. High wear rates were expected and whether these could be tolerated was an important question. During operations a range of refractory types was evaluated in both insulated and water cooled furnace designs. Furnace operations enabled lining wear measurements to be made. Results confirm that existing technology can solve any expected refractory problems. Design aspects that should be included in commercial furnaces are shown.

Jan 1, 1984

By HAROLD E. WHITE

LONG before the Stone Age, when man first sought shelter where there-were no natural shelters, such as caves and clefts in the rock, he uprooted trees and planted them upside down so that the roots formed the roof. By selecting trees whose roots grew out in a horizontal direction and; by planting these trees close enough - together, a crude shelter was formed. He then took mud, formed a plaster and covered over the' roots. Later the walls were made by using sticks and twigs and plastering between them. It is natural then, that he wiped his muddy hands on- his own hairy body and soon found that the mud was difficult to remove when, dry. It is due, to this discovery that we mix animal hair in 'our modern plaster to increase its strength. The use of fibrous asbestos in some refractory cements has followed this same principle.

Jan 1, 1929

By X. B. Wang, Z. Q. Guo

Slagging coal gasification process became a highlight of coal chemical industry in China during the last decade. Refractory lining's life of slagging gasifiers is one of the most critical factors for a cost-effective operation. The paper introduces current status of coal gasification in China, lining structure of slagging gasifiers and performance of refractory lining. It also summarizes the major factors impacting on refractory wear in slagging coal gasifiers in four Chinese chemical plants, based on ten years of industrial experience. The utilizability is discussed in terms of cost-effectiveness of high chromia refractories and possibility of the alternatives.

Jan 1, 2004

By Mahesh C. Jha

Cyanidation has established itself as the main process for extracting gold from ores in this century. However, many ores exhibit refractoriness to the conventional cyanidation process. The main cause of the refractoriness is generally the presence of carbon, tellurium, and sulfides, particularly those of antimony, arsenic, and iron. The problem is usually solved by either modifying the cyanidation conditions or providing an oxidation pretreatment. This paper presents results from studies that help in understanding the causes of refractoriness of various gold ores. This is followed by a discussion of many processes that have been developed to solve the problem such as intensive cyanidation, pressure cyanidation, carbon-in-leach cyanidation, and pretreatment processes such as roasting, chemical oxidation, autoclave oxidation, and bacterial oxidation.

Jan 1, 1986

By F. M. Zafar Kaifi

Magnesite producing companies rely on high grade purity MgO. The mineralogy of magnesite has a significant impact on the manufacturing of magnesite bricks. The manufacturing process of bricks companies utilizes 90% magnesite from 85%~90% MgO. The main objective of the magnesite bricks was to utilizes the indigenous raw material available in bulk quantity. With better under-standing of chemistry of the mineral species and strict control of bricks manufacturing/processing conditions can be better produce efficiently, a low cost high quality bricks with minimum detrimental environmental impact.

Jan 1, 2014

By V. Reiter, K. Reinharter, C. Wenzl, D. Gregurek, A. Spanring

The refractory linings in lead furnaces are exposed to several stresses rather complex in their interaction. In the present study the magnesia-chromite brick out of a lead recycling furnace suffered from a high chemical attack by the process slag. The high CaO, BaO and sulfur bearing silicate slag, as well as a high NaO2 supply from soda resulted both in a deep-reaching infiltration of the brick microstructure and a severe corrosion of the brick components. Both the sintered magnesia and chromite were attacked chemically. The FactSage calculations showed the formation of high amounts of liquid phase in the infiltrated microstructure. Further phenomena affecting the refractory performance such as iron oxide attack, redox effects, and boron attack are also discussed in the paper. The obtained information and insights serve as a basis for improving refractory materials (i.e., choice of refractories for individual process and new developments) and consequently furnace operations.

Mar 1, 2017

By Charles F. Stack

The A. P. Green Refractories Co. operates clay mines in ten states. Eight of these states have reclamation laws with which we have to comply and indications are that the U. S. Congress will pass a federal surface mining reclamation act in the near future. These regulations, in addition to the value of land in most areas, dictate that mining and reclamation be considered as a single operation. In many instances the land may be more valuable after properly planned mining and reclamation than before. Refractory clay, commonly called "fire clay" is defined as a siliceous clay rich in hydrous aluminum silicates, capable of withstanding high temperatures. It is deficient in iron, calcium, and alkalies and approaches kaolin on composition. Refractory clay is much more limited in occurrence and usage than common clay or shale. During 1971, common clays and shales were mined in 47 states with a total production of 45 million tons. Fire clay production was reported in 22 states with a total production of only slightly over 3 million tons.(1) Many of these producing areas are extremely limited in extent and production. Several are contained within a one or two county area. This reflects the unique geological conditions required for the formation or development of fire clay. The major fire clay producing areas in the United States are shown in Figure 1.

Jan 1, 1974

By C. E. Stack

For the purposes of this presentation, "refractory clay" is intended to include any clay suitable for refractory products and thus represents a description based on industrial application. Other common examples based on use would be white-ware clay, bleaching clay, paper clay, or cement clay. Most users and producers of refractories have specific quality requirements which determine the quality or type of clay that can be utilized. Many clays can however be interchanged or substituted in use by changing manufacturing processes or upgrading less desirable clays. U.S. Bureau of Mines publications (Ampian, 1985) categorize days into six groups. These are kaolin, fire clay, ball clay, bentonite, fuller's earth, and common clay. These are practical groupings based on clay production and usage in the United States. Among these groups bentonite, fuller's earth, and common clay are primarily composed of the minerals, smectite, illite, or chlorite, and are non-refractory. Kaolin, ball clay, and fire clay are commonly used in refractories and thus qualify as refractory clays.

Jan 1, 1986

By W. S. Dyer

Introduction In northern Ontario, refractory clay is found on four rivers of the James Bay watershed: the Abitibi, the Mattagami, the Missinaibi, and the Moose. The clay all belongs to the same geological formation ( the Mattagami of Lower Cretaceous age) , and occurs within a structural depression or 'basin', the boundaries of which have never been defined but which appears to cover at least 1,500 square miles of territory. The recently constructed James Bay extension of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario railway crosses the northeast end of the basin at the Onakawana lignite field, which by rail is 126 miles north of Cochrane, 605 miles north of Toronto, and 60 miles southwest of Moose Factory. Smoky Falls, the northern terminus of the railway owned by the Spruce Falls Power & Paper Company, Limited, is 7 miles south of one other point in the basin, i.e., the outcrops of refractory clay, sand, and kaolin at the foot of Long rapids on the Mattagami river. Smoky Falls is 50 miles north of Kapuskasing. In a very early report(l) , Dr. Robert Bell, of the Geological Survey of Canada, described '"light coloured marl in horizontal beds" from the Missinaibi river, and noted that the lignite also occurring in the river was probably :associated with the marls. This was undoubtedly the Cretaceous refractory day. Other early writers noted the occurrence of fire-clays, but it was not until Joseph Keele(2), of the Geological Survey, visited thee region in 1919 and studied the clays that their real significance was known.

Jan 1, 1933

By O. N. Sikazwe

The Nchanga Cu-Co ore deposit of the Zambian Copperbelt, is hosted in Neoproterozoic siliciclastic-carbonate sedimentary rocks, and it consists of two orebodies: the Lower Orebody (shale) and the Upper Orebody (arkose). Refractory Cu ores present in the Upper Orebody comprise 150 Mt with average 0.87% Cu, and are characterized by inadequate recovery of copper by leaching. This materials characterization study, conducted on refractory ore samples from the Upper Orebody using optical microscopy, QEMSCAN®, and microprobe, has shown that copper occurs mainly in biotite, phlogopite, malachite, pseudomalachite and goethite. QEMSCAN® has quantified the abundance of each phase and total Cu deportment in each phase.

Jan 1, 2008

By K. Yarnaguchi

In the Mitsubishi Continuous Copper Converting Furnace, calcium femte slag is used. Due to its extremely high basicity, the improvement of corrosion resistance of the refractory lining is in need. In order to clarify the corrosion mechanism and to search for a new corrosion resistant material, first, the surface snuctures of bricks corroded in molten slags were observed by EPMA. Second, the dissolution behaviors of sintered MgO-based pellets containing various oxide additives were examined. It was found that the formation and the dissolution of magnesiofemte at the surface of the bricks play an important role in their corrosion and an addition of NiO, Mn02, or Ti02 to MgO is effective in stabilizing the magnesio-femte and improving the corrosion resistance of MgO.

Jan 1, 1994

By D. R. Kreuzer

The sulfide smelting industry is striving for up-scaling their operations by increasing the throughput and efficiencies of the furnaces. The physical phenomena related to refractory materials prevailing in smelters and furnaces are highly complex. The refractory materials are exposed to fairly high temperatures, thermo-mechanical stresses, penetration of pores, erosion and chemical corrosion. The application of numerical simulation tools is needed for the refractory engineering task to consider those phenomena and to evaluate the impact of operational regimes on the refractory design and finally on the integrity of the furnaces. The work discusses case studies of simulations addressing problems and questions related to the refractory design process. Practical simulation approaches which employ simplified models are introduced as the engineering process demands results in a reasonable time.