Fused magnesia-zirconia co-clinker for fired refractories

Abstract In this paper developing a method of obtaining fused magnesia-zirconia co-clinker has been described. The fused co-clinker has been prepared from high-purity raw materials in an arc-resistance furnace. The fused magnesia-zirconia co-clinker was added to the ceramic mass sets in different amounts. The main properties of the fired samples obtained from fused MgO-ZrO2 co-clinker were compared with samples without any addition of zirconia as well as with materials obtained in the traditional way, i.e. by sintering a mix of magnesia and zirconia. It has been proved that the obtained fused MgO-ZrO2 co-clinker may be treated as a valuable raw material to modify the magnesia refractories production process. The research results show that the addition of fused MgO-ZrO2 co-clinker improved the refractories’ properties. In comparison with the reference material, the manufactured materials were characterized by lower porosity, high resistance to both cement and glass corrosion as well as high thermal shocks.