Articles
What are the fuel requirements for refractory kilns?
- Temperature and flame structure requirements
- Reach target firing temperature: common firing range for refractories is about (depends on product and process).
- Controllable flame: stable flame length, rigidity, and radiation; adjustable temperature field to avoid over/under firing and thermal-stress cracking.
- Atmosphere control and product cleanliness
- Oxidizing/reducing atmosphere controllable, especially for iron-bearing, carbon-bearing, or valence-sensitive products.
- Low contamination: low , low ash, low alkali metals, low chlorine; avoid introducing flux impurities that cause surface glassy phase, sticking to kiln furniture, or discoloration.
- Slagging, corrosion, and lining life
- In solid fuels, ash , alkali metals, and low-melting eutectics promote slagging; in heavy oil, vanadium and sodium form highly corrosive molten salts, accelerating refractory attack.
- Fuel and combustion method should avoid direct flame impingement on key areas and reduce local overheating.
- Process and economics
- Stable metering, continuous supply, wide control range, easy start/stop; low cost per unit heat and reliable supply.
- Emissions can meet limits: sufficient control margin for .