Import Substitution of Raw Material in the Refractory Industry

The world has almost entirely relied upon China for the supply of refractory raw materials like dead burned and fused magnesia, tabular alumina, refractory bauxite, chromite, and graphite over the past decades. However, China’s environmental crisis and shortage of high-quality mineral resources in India, have wreaked havoc on the raw material supply chain taking prices to newer heights. A major concern was the availability of low-iron refractory bauxite and the need for research on the commercially viable fusion of Indian magnesites. In order to cope up with this need, more number of composite synthetic materials like zirconia-mullite, silicon carbide, Al2O3–Cr2O3, MgO–CaO, MgO–Cr2O3, spinel, etc. were gradually getting used. Therefore, in order to remain competitive in the current scenario, there is an urgent need to enhance the domestic raw material production, development, and use of substitutes by way of continuous R&D and extensive brainstorming for recycling of refractory wastes in product formulations. In India, continuous efforts are being made to study the efficacy of indigenously developed new materials over traditional raw materials. In this chapter, we present one such study in which, descriptive laboratory tests were conducted before we had decided to explore this idea, and so far, there have been positive results pertaining to the product performance. In this chapter, we present an investigation carried out at Calderys India Ltd., in which the substitution of imported aggregates, by the indigenously developed aggregates, has been evaluated.