Applications Of Industrial Refractory Clay

Refractory clay can be categorized into soft clay, semi-soft clay, hard clay and high alumina clay. Soft clay looks like earth and is easy to disperse in water. It can be made into plastic mud when mixed with liquid. Semi-soft clay has poor dispersion in water, but the dispersed clay can also be made into plastic mud when mixed with liquid. The former two kind of clays are always used as binding agents in the production of refractory materials. Hard clay is block-like or plate-like. It usually does not disperse in water. It has a high refractoriness and is the main raw material for refractory materials. High alumina clay has a high content of Al2O3, high hardness and specific gravity. It has a high refractoriness and is mainly used to make high grade fire clay refractories. 

Refractory clay is mainly used in the metallurgical industry. As the raw material for the production of shaped refractories and unshaped refractories, its consumption accounts for 70% of the total consumption of refractories. 

 

Hard clay can be used to produce refractory materials for the blast furnace, hot stove and ladle. High alumina clay can be used to produce high alumina brick for the electric furnace and blast furnace and high alumina mortar. Hard clay and high alumina clay are usually calcined into clinkers at high temperature(1400-1800℃) before use. 

 

In the building material industry, refractory clay is used to make high alumina brick, phosphate high alumina brick and hihg alumina fused cast brick. High alumina clay can be made into aluminum-containing cement with limestone after calcination. This cement has good quick-setting ability, strong corrosion resistance and good heat resistance. 

 

Refractory clay also plays an important role in the abrasive industry, chemical industry and ceramic industry. High alumina clay can be made into abrasive materials by melting in an electric arc furnace. among them, fused corundum abrasive material is the most widely used one, accounting for 2/3 of the total abrasive materials. High alumina clay can be used to produce a vast variety of alumina compounds such as aluminum sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum chloride, aluminum potassium sulfate and other chemical products. In the ceramic industry, hard clay and semi-hard clay can be used as the raw material for the general ceramics, building porcelain and industrial porcelain industry. 

 

In addition, high alumina clay can also be used in oil wells as eproppante for purifying oil, in the agriculture as fertilizer promoting agents and paving materials. hard clay can also be used to produce ceramic fiber, a new insulation material, with good high temperature resistance, low thermal conductivity, good resistance to acid and alkali substances, sound absorption and light weight. Ceramic fiber products have been widely used in the metallurgy industry, the machinery industry, electronics industry, glass industry, ceramic industry and other industries.