A Brief Overview of Refractories

Refractories serve as protective linings in destructive process environments to protect from heat, corrosion, and abrasion. Refractories can be found in boilers, incinerators, furnaces, and other process units, and they play a critical role in the safe and efficient operation of power plants, steel mills, refineries, manufacturing facilities, and wood and paper mills. Often, a major refractory failure inside a process can bring production to a halt.

The manufacture of refractories

Refractories are manufactured from hundreds of raw materials that are mined from a variety of locations around the world. While the majority of raw materials is sourced from Asia, South America, and Africa, American mines supply some raw materials, such as clays, alumina, and special silicas, to refractories manufacturers.

The classification of refractories

Refractories have many classifications. They are classified by raw material composition, such as alumina-silica or basic, by properties, and by form. The properties of refractories include density, bonding chemistry, strength, service temperature, insulating value, thermal shock resistance, and abrasion and corrosion resistance. In general, the properties of a refractory are dependent upon the quality of raw materials used in the manufacturing process.

Refractories are further classified by their form after manufacture, either brick or monolithic. Brick encompasses firebrick, insulating firebrick, and other fired shapes, while the monolithic class includes castables, plastics, and gun mixes.

Choosing the right refractories

Choosing the right refractory for a specific application is both a science and an art. While refractories engineers design refractories to withstand certain destructive processes, environmental conditions differ from one process to the next. Therefore, previous experience in the field plays a major part in proper refractories selection and installation. The most important considerations are the destructive processes that will be attacking your refractory linings, but that is just the start. A variety of other factors play into the decision making, such as construction methods, process efficiencies, and budget.

If you have questions about refractories, contact Joe Moore & Company today at (919) 832-1665. We have installed refractories since 1957, and we have the experience and knowledge to help you choose the right refractories for your process.