Future Development Trend of Refractory Material Industry

Tuesday, 14th February 2017

The future refractory raw material will be mainly in high-purity, natural selection and synthetic use. Develop and utilizate the "three stone" raw materials, namely, andalusite, sillimanite, kyanite raw materials, can improve the microstructure and thermodynamic properties of aluminum-silicon refractory material. As the "three stone" at high temperature phase transition to mullite, and mullite expansion coefficient is smaller, help to improve the thermal shock resistance of the material.

Adding andalusite to the material can cause the formation of numerous micro-voids by diffusion of thermal stress, resulting in the release of stress in the corundum block, thereby improving the thermal shock resistance. The Silliman completely mullitized temperature is higher, is conducive to improving the high temperature creep resistance. The development of high-quality synthetic refractory raw materials, the use amount of natural raw material in developed countries is reducing, the amount of high purity synthesis of raw material is increasing, the reason for this is that the proportion of unshaped refractory material with large amounts of synthetic raw materials is increasing, while the production of fire clay brick, high alumina brick and zirconite brick which use large amounts of natural raw material, is decreasing.

Therefore, innovation, research, education, management and investment, will be key to keep the vitality and success for the refractory industry in the future. At present and the future years, for China's refractory industry, it is a period to experience a structural optimization, corporate restructuring and varieties structure adjustment. China's refractory development strategy should be based on China's rich natural resources, the development of high-performance synthetic raw materials and more high-performance, functional products, in order to meet the advanced high-temperature industrial development and requirements. At the same time, should pay attention to equipment and management, improve refractory raw materials and product quality stability and reliability.

The costs of producing refractories in developed countries are much higher than those of developing countries, due to the strict environmental requirements, force them to produce only high value-added products or export technologies, while transferring bulk products and labor-intensive products to developing countries.