1 Hot Topics 1/2010 Manufacturing & Performance of High-Temperature Materials refractories WORLDFORUM NEWSLETTER 3/2011 Prof. V. C. Pandolfelli 1 One of Magnezit Group´s mines 2 Organization Committee of the UNITECR 2011 wel- comes the readers of the refractories WORLDFO- RUM for attending the congress, which will be held on 30 Oct. to 2 Nov. in Kyoto/JP. The slogan and session topics of the congress are introduced to- gether with some very attractive features. The influ- ence of the 11 March disaster on the registration of UNITECR 2011: Refractories Technology to Sustain the Global Environment New Challenges and Old Tools: the Refractory Dilemma Hot Topics the congress leads to a certain decline in the partic- ipation. The estimate are 700~750 attendees, which is a rather smaller number due to considerable can- cellations of paper presentations from 334 before the disaster to about 230. Further information from: Homepage: http://www.unitecr2011.org E-mail: [email protected]Either as an academic or a professional in the in- dustry, one might wonder how to attract bright and young people to the refractory area. General and quick answers may arise such as: there are so many professional choices nowadays and bioceramics or electronic ceramics are much more appealing. But, what does the new generation expect as a profes- sional life in the industry or at university? Recent international surveys involving thousands of people around the world ranging from 18 to 24 years old, interviewed in pubs, parks and universities concluded that 90 % of them want a job that could help the society. Besides this, only 4 out of 10 con- sidered salary as an important factor when a new job is chosen. As a matter of fact, salary was only the seventh most important item listed. Growing fast up the hierarchy ladder and earning high wages are no longer the priority for the present generation. For them, the size and history of an organization is not a key issue when choosing a job. The main driv- ing aspects are the values and the ability to make them dream, either carrying out a project or re- search. Without dreams, without a purpose, the tar- gets are worse than unattainable – they don’t make sense!! Satisfaction is the most important aspect in the job and if they are convinced by the values, they will put their heart and soul into it. Based on these surveys, almost 50 % of young people change their jobs due to the lack of challenges. But, what can we do to seduce the young genera- tion? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, perhaps shed some light on this issue: “If you want to build a ship, do not gather people to collect timber and don’t assign see page 2 The promotion of young people for the refractories sector is an important issue. Not only the refractories indus- try has difficulties in finding young tal- ents. Other sectors like glass, carbon and technical ceramics are facing the same problems. Therefore these toughts are of interest on a much broader range for the industries and institutes, who need experts in mate- rial science and process engineering.
Transcript
1 Hot Topics 1/2010
M a n u f a c t u r i n g & Pe r f o r m a n c e o f H i g h - Te m p e r a t u r e M a t e r i a l s
refractoriesWORLDFORUM
NEWSLETTER 3/2011
Prof. V. C. Pandolfelli1
One of Magnezit Group´s mines2
Organization Committee of the UNITECR 2011 wel-comes the readers of the refractories WORLDFO-RUM for attending the congress, which will be heldon 30 Oct. to 2 Nov. in Kyoto/JP. The slogan andsession topics of the congress are introduced to-gether with some very attractive features. The influ-ence of the 11 March disaster on the registration of
UNITECR 2011: Refractories Technology toSustain the Global Environment
New Challenges and Old Tools:the Refractory Dilemma
Hot Topics
the congress leads to a certain decline in the partic-ipation. The estimate are 700~750 attendees, whichis a rather smaller number due to considerable can-cellations of paper presentations from 334 beforethe disaster to about 230. Further information from:Homepage: http://www.unitecr2011.orgE-mail: [email protected]
Either as an academic or a professional in the in-dustry, one might wonder how to attract bright andyoung people to the refractory area. General andquick answers may arise such as: there are so manyprofessional choices nowadays and bioceramics orelectronic ceramics are much more appealing. But,what does the new generation expect as a profes-sional life in the industry or at university?
Recent international surveys involving thousands ofpeople around the world ranging from 18 to 24years old, interviewed in pubs, parks and universitiesconcluded that 90 % of them want a job that couldhelp the society. Besides this, only 4 out of 10 con-sidered salary as an important factor when a newjob is chosen. As a matter of fact, salary was onlythe seventh most important item listed. Growingfast up the hierarchy ladder and earning high wagesare no longer the priority for the present generation.For them, the size and history of an organization isnot a key issue when choosing a job. The main driv-ing aspects are the values and the ability to makethem dream, either carrying out a project or re-search. Without dreams, without a purpose, the tar-gets are worse than unattainable – they don’t makesense!! Satisfaction is the most important aspect inthe job and if they are convinced by the values, theywill put their heart and soul into it. Based on thesesurveys, almost 50 % of young people change theirjobs due to the lack of challenges. But, what can we do to seduce the young genera-tion? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, perhaps shed somelight on this issue: “If you want to build a ship, donot gather people to collect timber and don’t assign
see page 2
The promotion of young people forthe refractories sector is an importantissue. Not only the refractories indus-try has difficulties in finding young tal-ents. Other sectors like glass, carbonand technical ceramics are facing thesame problems. Therefore thesetoughts are of interest on a muchbroader range for the industries andinstitutes, who need experts in mate-rial science and process engineering.
2 Hot Topics 3/2011
them tasks and work, but rather teach them to longfor the endless immensity of the sea”. Previous generations need to be creative in order toconvince present students. Creativity is related tooriginal ideas that have value and involves usingimagination to work and come up with somethingnew, leading to new solutions for everyday prob-lems. Creativity is applied imagination as a result ofkeeping our eyes wide open to see the surroundingsand make the right connections. These statementsare clear and valid, but don’t we do and study whatthe new generation is seduced by? In general, theanswer is yes, but if refractory does not attract asmany young people, we should ask ourselveswhether we are using the right methods to marketthe area? Refractory is a mature field regarding importancebut also in terms of the average age of profession-als working in the area. Perhaps the most difficultaspect is not for the young generation to see the re-fractory area with our eyes, but the opposite. As ma-ture people we are more reluctant to changes,whereas the present generation with their energy
and dreams want to be convinced and to do thingstheir way. Were we any different? Do I need to recall whathappened in the sixties and seventies of the lastcentury? The problem is not trying to understandyoung people, because it is clear what they want!The battle is for us to present them the refractoryarea in a way that they can be attracted! For example, why not thinking and showing thechallenges of refractory energy saving issues froman integrated point of view? High emissivity paints,slag foaming, advanced foaming spray insulating,novel ceramic burner designs made by 3D printing,etc. can be part of a holistic view of refractory sub-jects that will help the environment, the society andmake us feel useful! How about the courses that aretaught? Are we concerned with the importance of the trans-versality of the knowledge? Philosophy, nanotech-nology, sciences of nature, anthropology, etc, theymust all be part of the package for the global pro-fessional. How could we understand and teachethics in a broad sense, if our cosmos is limited to a
nut shell? We have arguments and history to changethe old and current “Dirty-Messy-Polluting” imageof the refractory area for a “Clean-Green-Challenging” one. The problem is that we are expecting the younggeneration to see the importance of refractory ontheir own, whereas the other professionals are mar-keting their area better. By the way, if you are not convinced by the state-ments above and still think that the present gener-ation is unique and complicated, a quotation byRoger Allen, a contemporary American writer, canexplain this issue better: “In case you’re worriedabout what’s going to become of the younger gen-eration, it’s going to grow up and start worryingabout the younger generation”.
V. C. PandolfelliFederal University of São Carlos (UFSCar)13565-905 São Carlos, SPBrazilE-mail: [email protected]
Spain/SwitzerlandEuro PM2011 Barcelona Opens its Gates on10th October – Basel is Already Confirmed asVenue for Euro PM2012The Euro PM2011 International Conference and Exhi-bition will be held in Barcelona/ES from 10 to 12 Oct.2011 at the ultra modern Centre de Convencions In-ternacional de Barcelona (CCIB). The event will have aprogramme of over 200 oral and poster papers thatwill cover all aspects of powder metallurgy includingstructural parts, hard materials, metal injection mould-ing and hot isostatic pressing. The EPMA (European Powder Metallurgy Association)has already announced that the Euro PM2012 Inter-national Conference and Exhibition will be held inBasel/CH from 16 to 19. Sept. 2012 at the CongressCentre Basel. The event will have a programme of overoral and poster papers that will cover PM applicationsand new rocesses, hard materials, PIM- and HIP-tech-nology. In addition to the main programme a numberof workshops and meetings on key topics of relevanceto the industry will be organized. Further informationon the Euro PM Exhibition & Congresses is available bycontacting Andrew Almond – [email protected]
ChinaInternational Symposium on Refractories 2012The 6th International Symposium on Refractories willbe held on 18 to 21 Oct. 2012 in Zhengzhou, HenanProvince. It will be organized by the Chinese CeramicSociety and the Chinese Society for Metals under thetopic "Refractories Serving Low Carbon Economy".
Topics covered are:• Refractories for the new energy industry• Energy conservation, recycling and eco-friendly is-
sues• Refractories for the building materials industry• Refractories for the metallurgical industry• Refractories for other industries (lime, petrochem-
istry, incineration, ceramics, etc.)• Refractory raw materials• Equipment for, characterization and simulation of re-
GermanyUhde Expands Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann´s Coke Oven PlantIn late 2010 Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM)awarded Uhde a contract to build a second coke ovenbattery at its Duisburg Huckingen site as well as to ex-pand the gas treatment unit and revamp the pushingmachines, coal charging cars and transfer machines. This new coke oven battery will enable HKM to in-crease its current production from 1,16 to 2,32 Mt/aof coke. The coke oven battery will comprise 70 large-capacity ovens, the chambers will have an effectivechamber volume of 70 m3. The new coke oven plantwill be equipped with the latest state of the art, in-cluding the low-NOx COMBIFLAME® heating systemdeveloped by Uhde and the PROven® single-chamberpressure control system for reducing emissions at ovenclosures due to leakage arising from deviations from
normal operation. The expansion of the existing gastreatment unit will increase the current throughputfrom 75 000 to 160 000 m3/h of coke oven gas.Uhde's services with regard to this coke oven plantproject include the engineering, supply and erectionof most of the overall complex. The plant is scheduledto produce its first coke in autumn 2013.
India/JapanKrosaki Harima Buys 51 % Stake in Tata RefractoriesKrosaki Harima Corp./JP has bought a 51% stake inTata Refractories Ltd./IN from Tata Steel Ltd/IN. Thedeal, which values Tata Refractories at USD 257 mil-lion, will reduce Tata Steel's stake in the refractorycompany to 26,46 % from 77,46 %. Tata Steel saidthe deal with the Japanese refractory manufacturerwould help Tata Refractories access better technologyand expand its product offerings.
RussiaMagnezit Develops Environmental Programme for the Satka ProductionMagnezit Group has developed the strategic pro-gramme of environmental safety for the Satka pro-duction site for the period 2011–2020. The documentstates that environmental safety and preservation ofnature is an absolute priority in the activity of Mag-nezit Group. The total volume of capital investmentsin nature conservation activities in the framework ofthe Strategic Programmr amounts to RUB 5 billion. Theprogramme contains a wide range of ecological meas-ures for the nearest decade practically in all spheres
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shof the company’s activity. In particular, by the middleof 2011 implementation of the programme for reduc-tion of excessive emissions will be finished ahead ofschedule. It envisages measures for protection of allcomponents of the natural environment: atmosphericair, surface and underground water, soil and vegeta-tion in addition to the list of obligatory works ap-proved by the regional government.
NorwayRHI AG Expands European Raw Material Supply RHI AG/AT signed a contract to acquire SMA MineralMagnesia AS (SMA)/NO. The purchase price amountsto NOK 100 million (about EUR 13 million); the pur-chase contract contains a few conditions, which mustbe met prior to the closing on or before 31 Aug. 2011.SMA produces seawater-based magnesium hydroxide,which can be processed to fused magnesia. RHI willsubsequently invest up to EUR 70 million in a fusingplant at the site of SMA. Starting in the summer of2012, RHI will produce up to 80 000 t/a of high-gradefused magnesia in Norway. With this project, RHI ismaking an important step towards the execution ofthe raw material strategy and thereby increasing itslevel of self sufficiency with magnesia based raw ma-terials by 19 % to 61 %.
AustriaRHI Expands Its Raw Materials Base and Acquires ZAO Podolsk RefractoriesAt the RHI Analyst Day, Henning Jensen, CEO of RHIAG, confirmed the outlook given with the publicationof the first quarter results. He expects revenues to in-crease slightly compared to the first quarter with anEBIT margin of 9 % and exchange rates remaining un-changed. Due to a higher order level, RHI will be ableto repeat the revenues of the first quarter in the sec-ond quarter and raise profitability to 9,5 %. On 16June 2011, the full acquisition of the Russian refrac-tories manufacturer ZAO Podolsk Refractories, whichproduces fused cast bricks for the glass industry, wascompleted. Moreover, the investment programme for2011 was explained in further detail: apart from build-ing a plant in Brazil and expanding capacity in China,it also includes increasing the level of self-supply withmagnesia raw materials to approx. 70 %. Jensen alsoreported that the entire investment budget 2011 willbe financed by the company’s cash flow and borrowedcapital, thus ruling out a capital increase in the fore-seeable future.
IndiaKerneos to Make Industrial Investment in Calcium Aluminate ProductionFollowing the opening of its commercial subsidiary inKolkata in March 2008, Kerneos/FR, the world leaderfor calcium aluminates will build its first plant in India.This plant will accompany the increasing demand of
high performing products for the refractory market tosustain the growth of the Indian steel industry. MagusMarketing Private Ltd, a well established player in thedistribution of refractory materials in India, will bepartner in this project. A green field sintering unit of 30 000 t/a capacity dedicated to the manufacture ofcalcium aluminate cements for the refractory applica-tion is being built to produce a range of high qualityproducts specifically designed for the Indian marketneeds. This plant will be set-up in the area of Visakha-patnam city (Vizag) in Andhra Pradesh. The efficientaccess to the refractory manufacturers, the vicinity ofVizag harbour and the support of the local authoritieswere some of the reasons of the selection of this lo-cation. This two year project and USD 20 million in-vestment was initiated in collaboration with an Indianengineering company, with the objective to start theproduction in the course of 2013. Approximately 60employees will be recruited to manage and operatethe plant.
Great Britain / MexicoDragon Kilns Joins Forces with Nutec BickleyFollowing talks concluded during the recent GIFA ex-hibition in Düsseldorf/DE, it has been announced thatDragon Kilns/GB will be joining forces with Nutec Bick-ley/MX with immediate effect.This move follows on from the recent appointment ofKen Wright (former Dragon Director) to the Nutec Bick-ley sales operation and fits in with the company’slonger term plan to increase the engineering experi-ence within its sales team. Adam Slater, Director ofDragon Kilns, will now be responsible for Nutec Bick-ley’s sales activities across India, South, South-Eastand Far East Asia and brings with him 25 years’ expe-rience in the global ceramic industry. Nutec Bickley ex-ecutives have for some time been formulating astrategy to seriously broaden and enhance the com-pany’s overseas operations and now they feel thatworking alongside Dragon Kilns has provided thespringboard at just the right time. Rodrigo González,Vice President Sales, Nutec Bickley, said: “We aim todouble our kiln sales by 2015 while at the same timeproviding the best available kilns and a superior after-sales service. With Dragon on board, this schedule canbecome a reality.” Dragon Kilns has an enormousamount of experience in dealing with the Asian ce-ramic industries and has unmatched expertise in bring-ing together European design and local manufacturingto achieve the optimum mix – high performance kilnsand extremely competitive packages.
VenezuelaBauxilum Aiming to Export BauxiteThe Venezuelan state bauxite and alumina companyBauxilum which operates the Los Pijiguaos bauxitemine in Bolívar state is aiming to export 300 000 t ofbauxite.
For the production process this year the companyneeds 4,2 Mt bauxite and the goal is to have 4,5 Mtwhich means that it will be able to export 300 000 t.!Bauxilum is aiming to produce 1,4 Mt alu-mina this year and is currently looking for customersfor the bauxite. There are three interested compa-nies.!The plant has an alumina capacity of 2 Mt/a but due to the lack of investments in mainte-nance and parts, it is not operating at full capacity.They expect to be producing 2 Mt/a by 2014. The out-look for the company has improved significantly.
Saudi ArabiaOutotec to Deliver Alumina Calcination TechnologyOutotec has agreed with Ma'aden Bauxite AluminaCompany, a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Min-ing Company (Ma'aden) and Alcoa in Saudi Arabia, onthe delivery of two calciners to the joint venture's in-tegrated aluminium complex at Ras Al Khair (formerlyRas Az Zawr), Saudi Arabia.The overall investment cost for the calciners is ap-proximately EUR 62 million, out of which roughly EUR 50 million will be booked in Outotec's order in-take in the third quarter. Outotec's scope of deliveryincludes process technology and design, civil work, de-tail engineering and construction as well as spareparts for the two alumina calciners, each with a ca-pacity of 3500 t/d of alumina. The project is scheduledto be completed at the end of 2013.
VietnamStart of Alumina Production in SeptemberVietnam will produce the first alumina from a bauxitecomplex in the Central Highlands in September 2011.The country's first alumina plant in Lam Dong provinceis now due to get its first product, quoting Tran Duong
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products was 16,98 Mt. During 2006-2010, the out-put of fireclay bricks and high alumina bricks wasslowing down year by year, but that of magnesia-based bricks, special refractories and unshaped re-fractories was gradually increasing. In China, HenanProvince is the biggest production base of refractories.There are over 1000 refractories companies, withabout 250 000 employees. The local refractories out-put in 2010 was 13,51 Mt, accounting for approxi-mately 50 % of China’s total. Liaoning Province,famous as one of the major magnesite bases in theworld, ranks the second largest production base, with5,53 Mt of refractories output in 2010. ShandongProvince is the third, with 4,4 Mt of refractories outputin 2010. The main local refractory materials and prod-ucts are flintclay, graphite, fireclay brick, silica brick,magnesia-carbon bricks and monolithic refractories.Shanxi Province is in the forth place, which producesrefractory grade bauxite, high alumina brick and silicabrick. In 2010, 1,24 Mt of refractories were producedin Shanxi province, with Xiaoyi as the leading producerof high-alumina bauxite, Yangquan as the chief producer of high-alumina brick, and Xixiaopin as the key production base of silica brick in China. Thefour provinces are followed by Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhe-jiang, Beijing and Shanghai for refractories output sta-tus in 2010, when the total output of all the abovenine provinces and cities was 26,85 Mt, accountingfor 95 % of China’s total (Source: Refractories Win-dow).
GermanyNabaltec AG – Annual Report 2010 Nabaltec AG, a supplier of eco-friendly fillers and ad-ditives, as well as raw materials for technical ceramicsfor a large number of applications in a variety of in-dustries, published its 2010 consolidated financialstatements. The provisional figures for 2010 were con-firmed: revenues grew by 54,2 %, from EUR 73,1 mil-lion to EUR 112,7 million, a new record. Nabaltec'searnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amor-tization (EBITDA) increased from EUR 3,7 million toEUR 14,3 million, and its EBIT reached EUR 6,5 mil-lion, coming after a loss of EUR 2,7 million the yearbefore. Earnings before taxes improved from EUR 7 million to EUR 1,4 million and the consolidated re-sult (after taxes and non-controlling interests) turnedpositive, improving from EUR 5 million to EUR 1,8 mil-lion. Nabaltec Group's liquidity and cash flow trend in2010 was very strong, for which three factors wereprimarily responsible: Nabaltec's cash flow from oper-ating activities increased from EUR 4,6 million to EUR15,4 million, while cash flow from investing activitieschanged from EUR 20,3 million to EUR 7,5 million, asplanned. Meanwhile, Nabaltec was able to success-fully place a EUR 30 million corporate bond issue inOctober 2010. Cash and cash equivalents increasedfrom EUR 0,5 million to EUR 19 million and free cashflow for 2010 was EUR 7,9 million.
4 Hot Topics 3/2011
preview issue 1/2012(extract)
Company Profiles/InterviewsCIVES/IT - MAGNEZIT/RU - VGH/DE - Münster-mann/DE - Gouda Feuerfest/NL - Capital Refrac-tories/UK - Uhde Services/DE - Momentive/DE -Magnesita/BRTechnology Trends• The Influence of Different Matrix Components
on Rheological and Mechanical Properties ofHigh-alumina LC Castables(Zschimmer&Schwarz/DE)
• Physico-chemical Behaviour of Southern IndianGraphite Used for Refractory Manufacture(SAIL/IN)
• Repair Action of Refractory Linings in High Temperature Reactors (RATH/AT)
• Refractory Solutions in a Phosphoric Acid Plant(Steuler/DE)
Economy & Markets• Bauxite and Alumina for Refractories• Developments in Production and Application of
Refractory Materials in Russia and CIS Reports• UNITECR 2011• DGFS Conference 2011• Int. Colloquium Aachen 2011Papers• EIRICH Awards 2011• Refractories Initiative to Reduce Emissions
(Priority Programme SPP 1418 of the German Research Foundation DFG)
Special Circulation at:ACerS Meeting, St. Louis/USA, 25.–29. March 2012IREFCON 2012, Kolkata/IN, 02.–04. Feb. 2012DGFS Annual Meeting, Frankfurt/DE, 06.– 09. March 2012International Conference for Refractory Experts andMetallurgists, Moscow/RU, 22.–23. March 2012
Please contact: Corinna Zepter, Advertisement ManagerPhone: +49(0)7221-502-237E-mail: [email protected] media information on volume 4 (2012):www.refractories-worldforum.com
Le, deputy director of the complex's managementboard. Vinacomin, or the Vietnam National Coal andMineral Industries Group, has also been developingthe Nhan Co project in Lam Dong's neighbouringprovince of Dak Nong, with projected initial output of600 000 t of alumina. Vinacomin has awarded the en-gineering, procurement and construction contract forboth the complexes in Lam Dong and Dak Nong toChina Aluminum International Engineering Co(Chalieco). Chalieco is a subsidiary of state-ownedAluminum Corp of China, or Chinalco, the country'stop aluminium producer. Vietnam's mostly untouched bauxite ore reserves areestimated at between 5,6 billion and 8,3 billion t,making it the world's 3rd-largest after Guinea andAustralia. Lam Dong alone is said to have more than1 billion t.
IndiaNational Aluminium Increases Alumina Capacity to Boost ExportsNational Aluminium Co., India´s third-largest producer,increased its alumina capacity 33 % to boost exportsand tap global demand. Capacity at the Damajodi re-finery in the eastern state of Orissa was expanded to2,1 Mt from 1,58 Mt. National Aluminium, based inthe eastern city of Bhubaneswar, exported 702 554 tof alumina in the year ended 31 March. Shipments fellin the last two years as the company used more alu-mina to feed a 40 % increase in smelter capacity.
USADepartment of Health and Human ServicesIdentifies Tungsten Carbide Cobalt as CarcinogenTungsten carbide-cobalt powders are key ingredientsin the manufacture of hardmetal (cemented carbide)cutting and grinding tools, dies, and wear resistantproducts used in a broad spectrum of industries. Some56 kt of WC-Co based products were produced glob-ally in 2008. The US Department of Health & HumanServices published its latest 12th Report on Carcino-gens which now includes WC-Co in powder or sinteredform as one of 240 substances that may put people atincreased risk for cancer.The complete list and report is available atntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/roc12 including the 180 pagebackground document and the 6 page substance pro-file on the reasoning behind classification of WC–Co.
ChinaRefractories Production in 2010The Chinese refractories production in 1949 was only70 000 t, but that in 2010 recorded 28 Mt, account-ing for over 60 % of the world’s total.The exports of China refractory materials and productswere 5,93 Mt in 2010, being exported to over 100countries and regions. The total output of China re-fractories in 2010 was 28,08 Mt, of which shaped
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M a n u f a c t u r i n g & Pe r f o r m a n c e o f H i g h - Te m p e r a t u r e M a t e r i a l s
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