Current Situation and Development Trend of Refractories Industry

Refractories generally refer to inorganic non-metallic materials with refractory degree above 1580 C, including natural ores (refractory raw materials) and various products (refractory products) processed according to a certain process flow according to certain purposes and requirements, which have certain high temperature mechanical properties and good volume stability. Refractories are important basic materials related to high temperature industry, such as iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical, building materials, machinery, electricity, environmental protection and national defense. They are also indispensable supporting materials for various high temperature industrial thermal furnaces and equipment. The technological progress of refractories plays an irreplaceable key role in the development of high temperature industry.

Iron and steel industry is the largest consumption industry of refractories. The refractories used in iron and steel industry account for about 70% of the total consumption of refractories. The scale of iron and steel industry directly determines the market capacity of refractories. Building materials industry includes cement, glass, ceramics and so on. Building materials industry is the second largest consumption industry of refractories, accounting for about 17% of the total consumption of refractories.

Industry Development Trend: Refractories are widely used in basic industries such as iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical, building materials, machinery, electricity, light industry, aerospace and aviation, warships, missiles and other military fields. The steel industry accounts for 70% of the main application fields and consumption ratios of refractories, followed by cement, ceramics, glass, chemical industry and non-ferrous metals, accounting for 7%, 6%, 4%, 4% and 3% respectively.

How to develop the refractory industry in China? According to the China Association of Refractories, in the future, the refractory industry should firmly grasp the three aspects of variety structure, organizational structure and industrial structure to adjust.

Variety restructuring is to actively develop long-lived, pollution-free, energy-saving and functional refractory products guided by domestic and foreign markets.