The city of Salvador on the northeast coast
of Brazil was the site of the 11th Unified International Technical Conference
on Refractories (UNITECR ’09), October 13-16, 2009. Despite the global economic
problems, attendance was good, with more than 600 attendees, including
participants, exhibitors and companions from 37 countries. As usual, most
attendees were from the host country, Brazil (with 129), followed by Germany
(58). There were 46 attendees from the U.S. and five from Canada.
The theme of the conference was “Refractories in a Shifting Globalized
World,” and the technical program included 203 presentations. The two most
popular topics for papers were the “Iron and Steel Industry” (the major market
for refractories worldwide) and “Castables and Monolithic Refractories,” which
each accounted for about 30% of the papers presented. Similar to UNITECR ’07,
“Refractory Raw Materials,” still an extremely important topic and major
concern for the refractories industry, received special attention in a separate
half-day session.
Iron & Steel Industry
The Opening Session included two speakers
from the Gerdau Group, who provided views based on their status as a major
steel producer and refractories user/buyer. They reported that, though the
financial crisis might be over, challenges such as unemployment, small or
negative growth, overcapacity of steel companies (especially China) and
protectionism remain. It was mentioned that “there is no good that never ends
and no evil that lasts forever.”
Prospects
for steel and refractories appear to be improving, with a 28% increase in world
steel production since December 2008. As a refractory user, Gerdau expects its
suppliers to provide safe, accident-free products; assist in reducing costs and
solving problems; act promptly; and share “best practice” information. The
refractory manufacturers were reminded to prepare for a sudden increase in
demand for refractories as users re-stock their inventory, and that the door is
always open for new ideas and products that will provide cost savings.
Additional iron and steel-related topics included MgO-C bricks with high thermomechanical resistance for the
BOF, blast furnace taphole and hearth refractories, and graphite oxidation kinetics
in MgO-C refractories, among others.
Raw Materials Issues
A panel of four refractory producers and four
raw material suppliers commented on various issues, including the dependence of
the world’s refractory producers on raw materials from China. The Chinese
government has been taking action to preserve/protect their raw materials and
protect their growing need for high-grade refractories, which is higher than
most other industrialized nations because their refractory consumption rate is
higher.
The price and availability of Chinese raw materials, such as bauxite, graphite,
fused MgO, brown fused alumina, SiC, etc., are very critical issues. The
world’s refractory producers have had to recognize the reality of the situation
and take action to protect their supply of good quality raw materials by
finding alternate sources, making formulation changes, conducting R&D on
novel options, increasing recycling, and more. In addition, sea cargo freight
rates and the availability of vessel cargo space were mentioned as key
concerns.
The raw materials situation is very complex and has not been this
volatile for 20 years. The refractories world was lured to Chinese raw
materials in the 1980s by price and availability. This resulted in major changes
in the global production and supply of competitive materials, and a dependence
on China developed. As a result, the recent years’ big price increases,
decreased quality and reduced availability of Chinese raw materials, which have
been related to the country’s huge increase in steel production (and resulting
domestic refractory demand) and the economic tsunami, have created big problems
and withdrawal pains as difficult choices are being made.
It was noted, however, that many of the larger refractory companies have been
proactive and have taken prompt action to assure control of their raw
materials. The issue of Chinese raw materials-and their alternatives-will
continue to be a major concern for the refractories industry.
Castables and Monolithics
Monolithic refractories were a popular topic,
given the continuing material and equipment improvements and their successful
use in many diverse applications. A novel casting technique was
reported by Vesuvius for low- and ultralow-cement castables. The patent-pending
method results in a 40-50% reduction in the water requirement, with associated
property and performance improvements. Use as ladle impact pads has shown
increased service life and more efficient emptying of steel. Several other uses
include lances, blast furnace troughs and ladle well blocks.
Resco Products discussed a dust-suppressing lining method that yields a
high-strength material that does not require air-curing and can be heated with
an accelerated schedule, which allows operation/production to be started
quicker than with conventional cast/vibrate and gunning methods. In addition, a
U.S. Department of Energy-funded program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has
resulted in field trials of a composite-type alumina-SiC refractory that
demonstrated better performance than traditional alumina refractories while
reducing downtime for maintenance, improving process efficiency and reducing
energy use. Additional monolithic-related topics included carbon-containing
castables for steel ladles, the effect of nano-additives on the
thermomechanical properties of alumina castables, and new gunite materials with
improved performance that reduce process downtime.
Other Topics
Numerous
papers dealt with novel and sophisticated aspects of refractories, including
nano-engineering (carbon, nanotubes, titania, zirconia, alumina, spinel,
microsilica, etc.), basic science, modeling and simulation (structure of
submerged entry nozzle, coke oven heating, fracture of SiC plates, corrosion
phenomena, drying of castables, etc.), and advanced testing. Additional
sessions focused on refractories for other industrial applications, including
non-ferrous metallurgy (Cu, Al), cement and lime, glass, petrochemicals, gasifiers,
and incinerators.
Looking Ahead
The next UNITECR meeting will be organized
and hosted by the Technical Association of Refractories–Japan (TARJ) at the
Kyoto International Conference Center in Kyoto, Japan, October 30-November 2,
2011. For more information, e-mail
unitecr-chair@tarj.org.
Any views or
opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent
those of Ceramic Industry, its staff, Editorial Advisory
Board or BNP Media.