Several aspects are important to define the working life of refractory lining for alumina calcinations units. The lack of knowledge of the best selection practices and qualification of the materials for this application have been the driving force of this work. Two commercial materials applied by projection (wet-shotcrete and dry-gunning) were characterized. Both are usual standards of refractories for lining vessels and pipes of alumina fluid-flash calciners. All the materials analyzed were submitted to laboratorial tests, which follow international technical standards. The tests were divided in indispensable, necessary and occasional, according to the importance of the solicitations of the refractory lining under operation. The technical and scientific knowledge applied in this work can guide the development, the selection and the application of new refractory castables for the internal lining of alumina fluid-flash calciners, increasing their working life, productivity and the reliability of the units, and reducing the maintenance costs.
projected refractory castables; alumina fluid-flash calciner; thermomechanical properties
