Refractories : Classifications

The wide variety of application conditions in different industries requires different types of
refractories to be used. This has forced the refractory manufacturers and developers to provide a
variety of refractories suitable for each and every condition. This variety of refractories can be
classified as per various groups / classes based on certain specific properties. These different
categories of refractory classification with their detailed subclasses are described in this chapter.
These different classes are based on,

1. Chemical nature:
a. Acidic refractory
b. Basic Refractory and
c. Neutral refractory
2. Manufacturing method: refractories are manufactured by different techniques or processing
and as per that specific / special techniques the refractories are classified, like,
a. Pressed and fired refractory,
b. Fused cast refractory,
c. Hand molded refractory, etc.
3. Physical form / shape: classification is also important as per the physical form of the
refractory, and the main subclasses are
a. Shaped refractory, having a definite shape and size during manufacturing and supply
to the user industry
b. Unshaped refractory, which is a well mixed granular mass and does not have any
specific shape and dimension during manufacturing and supply to user industry.
4. Porosity (insulating nature): Amount of porosity describes the dense (strong) or insulating
character of a material. Refractories are classified as per porosity as
a. Dense refractory
b. Insulating refractory
5. Heat duty (application temperature): This is a traditional nomenclature, indicates the
maximum temperature that a refractory can withstand or maximum application temperature.
Classifications are
a. High heat duty,
b. Medium heat duty,
c. Low heat duty, etc.
6. Main constituent: Refractories are classified as per the principal chemical component
(normally oxide) present in them and named accordingly, like
 a. Silica refractory, when main constituent is silica
b. Alumina refractory, when main constituent is alumina, etc
7. Purity: Within the classification of the main constituent, depending on the percent (purity) of
that constituent present, the refractories are further classified, like
a. 60% alumina brick (means major constituent of the brick is alumina and the amount
of alumina present is 60%)
b. 70% alumina brick, etc.
8. Special refractory: Refractories which do not come under the above broad classifications and
typically used at a much reduced volume, only in special cases, like
a. Non-oxide containing refractory
b. Zirconia refractory, etc

Chemical nature

Refractories are very commonly classified based on their chemical behaviour, i.e. how a refractory
will behave in a particular environment. Chemical environments prevailed in the furnace or the
processing conditions determine the most suitable refractory for such an application. As per the
chemical nature (affinity) of any material, refractories are classified as - Acidic, Basic & Neutral.

Acidic Refractories

Acidic refractories are those which are resistant to any acidic conditions like, slag, fume and gases at
high temperatures. But they are readily attacked by any basic slag or environment. In the presence of
any essential components, the acidic refractories react with it rapidly causing a massive corrosion in
the refractory lining and resulting in a very poor life of the lining. These refractories are only used in
areas where slag and atmosphere are acidic. Examples of acid refractories are:

1) Silica (SiO2),

2) Fireclay

Both the refractories contain silica as the main material and in any basic environment at high
temperature, say in the steel ladles or burning zone of cement kilns, they will react and form various
silicates. These silicates have low melting point, and they further react with solid refractory structure,
causing wear of refractory and drastic deterioration of refractory lining. Hence, any acidic refractory
performs best in an acidic environment, say in glass melting tank applications if other application
criteria are met.
Neutral Refractories

Neutral Refractories are chemically stable to both acids and bases and are used in areas where slag
and atmosphere are either acidic or basic. Hence, these types of refractories are most commonly
preferred. But many of the refractories which behave as neutral at low temperatures behave with some
chemical affinity at high temperatures. Hence neutral refractory, useful for very high aggressive
environments at high temperature is rare.

The typical examples of these materials are:

1) Carbon or graphite (most inert)

2) Alumina (Al2O3)

3) Chromites (Cr2O3)

Out of this graphite is the least reactive and is extensively used in metallurgical furnaces where the
process of oxidation of carbon can be controlled. Alumina and chromites are stable at low
temperatures but at high temperatures, they behave little acidic in nature and react with very strong
basic materials. Hence, at high temperatures their chemical neutrality is no longer valid.

Basic Refractories

Basic refractories are those materials which are attacked by acidic components but stable against
alkaline slags, dust, fumes and environments at elevated temperatures. Since these refractories do not
react with alkaline slags, they are of considerable importance in basic steel making processes, non-
ferrous metallurgical operations and cement industries. The most common important basic
refractories are

1) Magnesia (MgO)

2) Doloma ([Link])

Basic refractories are never used in acidic conditions, say in glass melting tank, where they will be
washed away very fast by forming low melting silicates

Manufacturing method

Manufacturing methods of the refractories vary to attain definite shape, size and specific properties.
The nomenclature of the refractories is also done as per the different manufacturing techniques
employed. The various sub-classes of this classification are as follows.
Pressed and fired (sintered)

This is the most common / conventional type of refractory that is generally found. In this method
particles of different sizes (of various raw materials to get the proper refractory composition) are
mixed and then pressed and fired to attain the desired shape and characteristics. Pressing pressure and
firing temperatures are critical parameters and are fixed as per the constituents of the composition
and targeted properties. Use of lower pressure and temperature results in a low strength and relatively
porous (less dense) product.

Fused Cast

Fused cast refractories are important for many industries like glass, iron & steel, aluminium, etc.,
where the refractories are subjected to remain in contact with the liquid phase at high temperature for
a prolong period. They are also necessary for petrochemical and other related industries where the
refractories are subject high wear / abrasion / erosion and chemical attack. Fused cast refractories are
manufactured by melting mixtures of oxide powders (for the desired composition) in an electric arc
furnace (using carbon electrodes) at a temperature exceeding 2000°C and casting the melt in moulds
wherein it solidifies through annealing to reduce the generation of strain. These refractories are treated
with oxygen while in the molten state to place the constituents in the most highly oxidized state. A
contraction cavity is formed beneath the casting scar during cooling, and so the opposite surface of
the casting scar is used as the working face of the refractory.

Hand Molded

These refractories are important for their critical shapes and sizes. Non-conventional, critical shapes
and dimensions in refractories are important for many special applications, like in coke ovens, glass
tank furnace, etc. Pressing is a simple method for great productivity but pressing moulds can not
produce intricate shapes as the releasing of the pressed shapes needs a simple design for higher
productivity. Also, dimensikons of the shape is also limited to pressing process as much bigger
dimensions requires huge pressing capacity, which has certain technical limitations. Hence for
forming a complicated shape or a large sized refractory product before firing, hand molding (using
techniques like hammering) is the easiest and simple process.

As hand generated pressure is much lower than the pressing pressure, the amount of water used is
about 2-3 times more than that require for pressing. Also, the green strength is lower. Hence, handling
and drying of these types of refractories are relatively critical. Higher moisture content and less
compaction pressure during shaping of these products produce relatively porous structure and high
shrinkage on firing, and so the mold size needs to be adjusted.
Bonding

Many of the refractories are chemically bonded. That means a different chemical bonding material
is used, which is entirely different from the basic composition of the refractory, to create a secondary
(chemical) bond between the particles to retain the shape and size, generate strength and other
properties. Mostly chemical bonding is used for those refractory systems that require the very high
temperature to develop a direct sintering bond. The addition of a secondary phase may form a liquid
(or reacts and melts) and creates a bonding between the particles of the primary refractory particles.
But the high temperature properties of the refractory get affected.

Physical form

Shaped refractory:

These types of refractories are having fixed size and shapes. Shaped refractories are the most common
and conventional ones. Shapes may be standard ones and special types. Standard shapes are those
products whose shape and dimensions are common and accepted by most of the refractory
manufacturers and users. Standard shaped bricks have dimensions that are conformed to by most
refractory manufacturers and are applicable to kilns and furnaces of the same type. Standard shapes
are usually required in vast quantities to construct a kiln or furnace.

Unshaped refractory

Unshaped refractories are those which are in loose granular condition and do not have any particular
shape and size while they are transported to the user industry. The shape and size are given as per the
requirement of the particular application by making it a flowable / shapeable mass and applying the
same to the required area by casting, ramming, troweling, gunning, etc. As a very big and single
structure can be made from these materials they are also called monolithic (in Latin, mono means
single and lithus means structure)

Porosity or insulating character

Dense refractory

Dense refractories are those which have a very low porosity and are highly sintered to attain
maximum possible packing and densification. Higher densification (lower porosity) comes from more
and more contact in-between the particles due to a greater extent of packing (compaction / pressing)
and sintering. Greater degree of grain to grain contact and sintering will produce greater strength.
Hence, the dense refractory shows improved mechanical properties, higher resistances against
corrosion, abrasion, wear and erosion, increased thermal conductivity, etc. Conventionally,
refractories having porosity below 45% are termed as dense refractories.

Insulating refractory

Any high-temperature processing requires a significant amount of thermal energy. And in most of the
cases, the energy requirement for the actual process is much lower than the total energy consumed.
This is due to the enormous amount of energy loss mainly through the walls of the processing
container (that is the refractories) into the atmosphere. And the higher the temperature of processing,
the chance of heat loss is more. To reduce the escape of energy from the process a special kind of
refractory lining material for the processing vessel is required, which is called insulating refractory.
The primary function of the insulating refractory is to prevent or reduce the rate of heat flow (heat
loss) through the walls of the furnaces. These refractories need to withstand the high temperature of
its application and simultaneously need to be insulating (low thermal conductivity). Such
requirements can be achieved by incorporation of porosity in the refractory body, which are actually
small air pockets. Air is having very low heat conductivity, hence the more the porosity, the more
will be the insulating character of the refractory. Generally, refractories having a porosity more than
45% are called insulating refractories. Small and uniformly distributed pores with a higher amount of
porosity result in better quality of insulating character.