High Performance Trough Ramming Mass Developed by Calderys India for Mini Blast Furnace

摘要

Total Pig Iron production capacity of India is ~ 70 million tonne (MT). The share of Mini Blast Furnaces (MBF) towards the total production is ~ 10 million tonne. In general, the working volume of MBFs are in the range of 150-550 m~3 and their corresponding production capacity is 350-1500 MTper day. The number of such furnaces in the country, at present, is 37. In general, MBFs operate with one taphole and hence, their troughs are not lined with castables since castable installation procedure is elaborate and thus, time consuming. Fall out of longer refractory installation time, for trough, would be its longer non-availability for casting. This is one of the major reasons why MBF troughs are lined with Ramming Mass, instead of castable. Till recent past, the BF trough ramming mass, available in the Indian market, did not yield requisite performance. The BF trough lining required too frequent repair, in majority of the cases, it was as frequent as twice a week. This aspect obviously was hindrance for maximisation of furnace productivity. Approximately three years back, we, Calderys India, decided to serve this segment of the market and developed a ramming mass which would yield performance better by a few folds. Owing to the superior performance of our ramming mass, 18 out of 37 MBF troughs are maintained by our products. This article highlights the product design, its properties, testing technique simulating actual application and its performance compared to the material used in the past.