A specific critical analysis on the llfe time of alumina calciners refractories

Abstract

In the international literature it is possible to find references of optimized refractory materials for lining circulating fluidized bed alumina calciners. However, unexpected failures of these rerractories are still relatively common, impacting in many ways the results of alumina refineries. Due to the importance of this subject, this work addresses the performance analysis of a rerractory material which faced harsh operational conditions and resulted in a short life. “Post-martern” techniques, “in situ” observation and properties evaluation were used to study the materials’ behavior. Based on the obtained resuIts, a discussion related to the better performance potential of distinct rerractories is presented, highlighting that based on the variety of different features these materials have, significant improvements of calciner rerractory life can still be attained.