The exact knowledge of the material properties of refractories in the region of their, usual very high, application temperatures is the key to their successful application as well as to the development of new refractory materials. A particularly important question is the behaviour of a refractory against thermal shock and thermal cycling. While many techniques …

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Rising raw material costs for the production of brown and white fused alumina in China are expected to push prices higher in the coming weeks, while intensifying anti-pollution control in Henan province will further compound supply constraints.

The company aims to have its fused magnesia line ‘up and running’ in Norway before year-end. Austrian refractory maker RHI is aiming to restart fused magnesia (FM) production at its partially-mothballed facility in Norway in December, the company told IM. After an initial announcement at the beginning of October, RHI said it is confident the …

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The Henan government has ramped up efforts to combat pollution by implementing yet more shutdowns of brown fused alumina production later this year. This is set to cause more global supply disruptions since output was already intermittent in recent months. The government of Henan province in China will enforce large-scale brown fused alumina production stoppages from November 2017 …

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The latest surge in prices follows extreme tightness in availability of material from European producers, and compounds the shortage seen in China. Prices of European fused magnesia (FM) have surged to exceed the $1,000/tonne mark this week, following repeated upticks in Chinese prices and extremely tight availability of material reflecting on international demand flows. While the European …

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