A Study of Shevaroy Bauxite for the development of high Alumina Refectories

High alumina refractories meet wide service requirements in different types of metallurgical furnaces, cement kilns and boiler installations. Alumino-silicate minerals such as Kyanite, andalusite and sillimanite are ideal raw materials for high alumina refractories in the range of 40 to 60 % alumina. But for withstanding abrasion and alkali attack etc., which calls for a refractory having Al2O3 content over 60%, these raw materials have to be partly or wholly replaced by those having higher alumina contents like diaspore, bauxite, gibbsite etc. Most bauxite deposits of North India are high alumina refractories in the range of 60 to 80 % Al2O3. The grain size to which the bauxite has to be crushed to ensure complete reaction, optimum temperature for calcination of mixtures of bauxite and Travancore China clay to removal all shrinkage and final temperature ranges for firing these refractory compositions have been investigated.