Date | May 09, 2016:
India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) has developed a method for utilizing saprolite ore as a new type of refractory material. The ore, which is found at the base of bauxite mines, could augment or even replace the use of calcined clay as lining for high-temperature furnaces.
“It is for the first time that saprolite is being used as a refractory material. Centre has already filed a national patent for it. Though the project is still in research stage, it has shown promise. We have tested the material in a furnace at MIDC Hingna over a period of last one year. The upscaling process, however, is yet to be tested,” said Anupam Agnihotri, JNARDDC’s director.
Currently pyrophyllite, high purity calcined clay, and silimanite are used as refractory materials in heavy industry. Originally an in-house project, JNARDDC approached the Ministry of Mines, who subsequently tendered a grant to the Centre for the project in the amount of Rs 41 lakh (US$ 61,723.78). According to the Centre, it plans to have an industrial process developed by the project’s end next year.
Saprolite, which can be found in several areas throughout India, has a high silica content, and a low alumina content. Usually refractory material requires a material with at least a 40% alumina content. However, the process in question could increase the alumina content by up to 5%. The process will also reduce saprolite ore’s iron content from 2.7% to below 2% to increase its utility to industry.
According to Agnihotri, the new material under development has potential uses in applications as diverse as steel production, cement mixing, boilers, fertilizer, and various processes in the petrochemical industry. “The energy consumption in the process developed by the centre has been one tenth. Even after considering transportation and other costs, the total production cost of this new furnace material would be at least a fifth of conventional material,” he said.
(Source: http://aluminiuminsider.com/)