Indian refractories could be using minerals such as dunite, sillimanite and zircon in place of alumina and magnesia, new research shows.
Driven in part by the quest for new and alternative raw materials in refractories, papers presented at UNITECR this week in Kyoto revealed potential new demand for dunite, sillimanite, and zircon in this market sector.
K. Banik of TRL Krosaki Refractories Ltd argued that dunite was a cost effective refractory raw material for certain applications and competitive with high alumina and magnesia-chrome containing refractories.
Until now, dunite, often used as an alternative to magnesia, has been confined to use in back-up and insulation lining in glass refractories and...