Iron and steel industry is the biggest consumer of refractories products; on an average, the industry consumes 70% of the refractories products. Almost all products – such as fire clay bricks, alumina bricks, castables, etc.,- are used by the industry for its different processes, which are carried out under high temperatures. However, not all products are suitable for all applications and/or areas. Selection of a refractory product for a particular application depends on factors, like its refractoriness, the operating conditions, the metals to be used in the process, etc. For example, selection of a refractory for the lining of a furnace will be built on the combination of material qualities, and brick size; the right selection ensures optimal performance; and that is the key objective of the iron and steel industry. The industry uses refractory products for various applications; some of the applications include: - Blast furnace
- Stainless steel furnace
- Basic oxygen furnace
- Twin hearth furnace
- Electric arc furnace
- Coke oven
- Energy optimizing furnace
- Purging refractories
- Induction furnace
There are many more applications, where the refractory products are put to use. It is their refractoriness – their ability to withstand high temperature conditions without losing their physical and chemical properties – that make them so ideal for the iron and steel industry worldwide. Refractories come in various shapes and sizes with different chemical compositions and that's why they can be categorized on various parameters such as their physical appearance and chemical properties. On the basis of their physical appearance, refractories products can either be shaped refractories or unshaped refractories. Refractories such as bricks are the shaped ones; on the other hand, refractories such as castables are the unshaped ones. Unshaped materials are also called monolithic refractories. On the basis of their chemical behaviour, these materials could be acid, basic, and neutral. The acid materials are the ones, which are attacked by the alkalis (basic slags); silica refractories are the example of acid materials. Basic materials are attacked by acid slags; however, these materials are stable to alkaline slags. Neutral materials refer to the materials, which are stable to both acids and bases. The modern-day iron and steel industry asks for high quality refractories products, and therefore the refractories industry too has changed its gears, and now makes use of the latest refractory-manufacturing technology and manpower. The domestic industry hasn't been able to meet the growing demands of the iron and steel industry; this demand is met by imports. The demand for refractories products is likely to go up in the coming years; it’s time for the refractory industry to upscale its production, and make the most out of opportunities.
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