IRE UK Conference 2023 – Real World Problems – Practical Solutions

Report by Lynn Postle, IRE Journal Editor
The CO2 footprint will play a significant role in how refractory products are bought in the future, warned Chris Parr in the opening presentation at the IRE UK Annual Conference. Held at The Mowbray in Sheffield (UK) on 15 November, the conference attracted many delegates keen to learn from industry experts about practical solutions to real world problems.

Parr of the British Ceramic Confederation (now known as Ceramics UK) urged delegates to place sustainability at the forefront of their minds. “Your customers will need to be able to identify their CO2 footprint. We need to do better collectively with regards sustainability,” he noted. He said that to extend the life of refractories there is a need for:

1. Better products, using less material.
2. Energy conserving.
3. Water to be used more efficiently to produce minerals.

He explained that there was a need for change in global steelmaking with several challenges including looking at material systems and process optimisation. Taking the audience through a series of scenarios and ideas, he considered what raw material producers could do to help with the “transformation” to “replace and lower the active carbon content in certain systems.”

He talked about how switching to hydrogen for some processes was possible but often it would “not be a simple switch.” He said: “The refractory world will be very different depending on whether you are at the burner block or further away. “The impact on combustion area needs to be analysed. Flame and flame speed, changes in gas flow etc. All needs to be understood. Fuel will also be an issue as hydrogen will not be available universally. Hydrogen networks are being built and large scale installation is ongoing, but hydrogen cannot be acquired at a competitive price for large scale plants – perhaps alternatives such as biofuel need to be investigated.

“It is a real world problem and we need to couple experimental and simulation approach to drive us to solutions.” Picking up the discussions about hydrogen, Mark Allen from the Materials Processing Institute (MPI) detailed the facilities available at the MPI and some of the work being undertaken there. He began with an update on the hydrogen resistance work and some thoughts on how the experiments being undertaken can be run out into industry. He said: “If you are burning hydrogen correctly and safely then you won’t have any spare, which is great for the environment but a nightmare for refractories. The question remains: what is it doing when you’re producing bricks, cast products etc? There are a number of questions and potential headaches before large scale furnace production with hydrogen.”

He also queried: “What behaviour exists in a hydrogen combustion atmosphere – fusion, volatisation, water vapour attack? We can’t answer all the questions, but we need to pool our knowledge.” He explained that the MPI has capacity to support “decent size thermal experiments”. He revealed that combining efforts with Trent Refractories and Kanthal in a three-year pilot program, it was envisaged that some questions would soon be able to be answered, with Kanthal involved because “at least fifty per cent of the industrial people MPI is in discussion with are looking at electrification of reheating and pre-heating for heat treatment.”

He concluded that: “the future is a hybrid of highly appropriate technology.”

Theoretical examples
In a presentation entitled ‘From collapsing glass furnace regenerators to H2 combustion – how refractory permeability can save the day,’ Chris Windle of DSF Refractories and Minerals Ltd looked at how to measure permeability (forcing air or nitrogen through the sample), considering real life problems with real life solutions. He noted that a regenerator in heat recovery systems is “a marvellous way of heat recovery in the glass sector.”

He spoke about the history of the regenerative furnace (1892 – Windle Pilkington), highlighting how making low permeability press free is “very difficult, but cast material is an option”. He offered several examples of different processes/ options, including the hybrid glass melter option – a combination of electric melting and combustion (hydrogen/oxygen) melting.

As per Parr’s earlier presentation, Windle noted that “the consequence when we move to hydrogen will be water.” He warned: “Water vapour in the atmosphere can double the effect of global warming according to NASA.” He continued: “We are looking at creating a material that is resilient and have come up with a solution that is giving good results – the material that keeps on giving. “Permeability, I believe, is an overlooked fact of refractories.”

Delegate Dr Mark Jolly of Cranfield University echoed some of the concerns raised, saying: “We must always consider the rebound effect that occurs when we double the grid. This means we will use more steel and more concrete. So, whilst the choice of materials is critical, we will still be producing CO2.” “We know now that UK steelmaking is going to be electrified,” said Dave Bell in his presentation ‘A day in the life of asteelmaking ladle’. “What we need to do is look at theoretical examples of what refractories
suppliers can do to improve costs.”

He went on to highlight refractory materials and the amount of energy used to produce and use them, such as hot face temperature loss in ladle linings and heat loss from outside the ladle. He asked: “how can we humble bricklayers help?” He went on to detail a large research project on an energy saving (mag/carbon) brick; the brick has been designed to reduce bulk density which affects heat being held, and a smaller project on a new firebrick.

Highlighting the comparison between the options, he concluded: “I’ve seen loads of examples where refractories are replaced with much improved materials, but people haven’t considered the heat loss! Remember, energy saving is becoming more and more important.”

Matthew Davies of TATA Steel UK, Port Talbot presented on shocking bricks, in particular thermal shocks. He tabled examples and warned delegates to consider the “less obvious places where thermal shock occurs.” As the only group in TATA Steel UK making virgin steel from a blast furnace, Davies spoke from the heart about best practice. He said: “A very important stage of the ladle is when it is empty – the dark side of the moon. The ladle goes empty from the end of cast to the next time it is used. We have looked at ladle shell design – five metres high and 4.8m internal height – and are coming to a compromise with the ladle shell.

“There are many challenges for the ladle supplier/designer. This is a one-shot ladle, and our people are pretty close to the process, so criticality is high risk for us, which is why we have undertaken a lot of work to manage the fleet. We have a proactive system and need to maintain a free joint in the bottom.”

Davies explained there are several places for thermal shock – “that is the problem and the process”. Rigorous testing is undertaken, and data is shared with suppliers to show how they compare to other suppliers, offering good feedback. Both trial products/materials and standard products/materials are tested and compared. He said: “We look for best performance, best unplanned failures, cost/tonne, linings etc.”

A call to arms
Considering the importance of health related issues, such as stress and respirable crystalline silica (RCS) Natalie Tinsley, HM Inspector of Health and Safety, Engagement and Policy Division – Manufacturing Sector, Stone, Brick, Concrete, Glass, of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spoke of the HSE’s ten-year strategy to protect people and places. Of particular note was the legal requirement upon employers to protect the health and wellbeing of their employees.

In a shocking statistic, Tinsley announced that “Fifty per cent of work related ill-health is due to stress.” She said: “Our inspectors will ask you what you are doing about that.” In terms of RCS, she said “we need to work out how to tackle” it, while other areas are also prioritised. “Silicosis is currently not a RIDDOR reportable disease, we therefore don’t have the statistics on it.”

Past IRE President Katy Moss asked the room for assistance, saying: “Dust extraction in refractories is an issue. We can’t use water so what do other companies do? Is it just LEV? What about spot cleaning?” Tinsley confirmed: “If extraction is your control and you have to use dry processes, that is reasonably practicable. However, make sure you have competent advice, the British Occupational Hygiene Society is one option.”

Tinsley listed some of the current HSE campaigns and findings, saying that in terms of refractory failings “all areas, including small places onsite, are looked at – not just production areas.” Calling delegates to arms, she noted that the last ‘guidance on hazards from the use of refractory fibre’ was in 1999 and that the guidance needed updating. “We are keen to hear your views on this to contribute to the update,” she pleaded. “We want the people who do the work to be involved in the update.”

An ever evolving industry
Having made the near 17,000km journey from Australia to the UK for the conference and most notably to facilitate the IRE Training Day on 16 November, Mike Walton, the Treasurer of the IRE Australasia branch gave a presentation on ‘The role of the consultant in the modern refractories industry.’ He explained how the industry has adapted and, in some cases, rationalised in Australia, meaning that in many project instances in-house experience on certain matters is inadequate.

However, Walton made the case for close working relationships between expert organisations like the IRE and industry. “The IRE is trying to help people make the correct decisions to get things done properly,” he said. “It is a good idea to start with an appraisal before commencing a project. I’ve been a consultant for nearly thirty years and nowadays consultants are fully involved with projects, they are no longer just strategically involved.”

He explained how in-house politics is something to be navigated with tact with the operator and management often having differing views about a consultant’s involvement. “Think of a consultant as an insurance policy,” he urged. “Arguably, money is better spent before embarking on a major project than after.”

He said the role of the consultant had grown in recent years. “Back in the day companies had a refractory team, so there was little need for additional input, but only major steel companies have that now. The current role of the consultant is to fill the knowledge void as in many cases expertise has been lost at every level. This means the consultant is more hands-on now – both the strategic and tactical line between the consultant and the contractor is very, very fine.”

When questioned about what he considered key skills to introduce apprentices to, Walton pinpointed “correct protocols”. He said: “Don’t let them pick up bad habits. Use the IRE as they have training and skills development options. Then mentor you apprentices. Mentoring is vital.”

Latest products
“There are now lots of brands under the Alkegen banner,” said Chris McMahon of Alkegen now that Unifrax and Lydall have combined into one company. At the conference McMahon was representing the insulation team, which manufactures and converts materials into different product forms depending upon the application.

He detailed the options now available for “lower energy, better linings and less heat loss.” In his presentation, ‘Next generation carbon filters – best of both worlds,’ Ian Andrews of Capital Refractories presented on the mechanisms of traditional and next generation filters, noting that the latter provide more freedom of design. He detailed Capital’s next generation filter Metcon C, saying: “We feel it is more cost-effective, efficient, repeatable and has a consistent structure.”

Neil Simpson of Simpson Combustion & Energy Ltd also presented.

More than a technical conference
In addition to the technical presentations, there was also a late afternoon workshop hosted by TransFire (Transforming Foundation Industries Research and Innovation Hub) on ‘Unlocking opportunities through collaboration.’ Regular networking breaks throughout the day and a celebratory dinner on the evening of 15 November, including entertainment and a presentation from Sebastian Klaus of Almatis entitled: ‘ECO-TAB – a new alumina aggregate for steel ladle lining.’ On 16 November the IRE held its annual Training Day on ‘Castables – 50 shades of grey. How to not mess up.’

IRE President Mike Lamkin said he was “delighted” with the attendance level and the venue for accommodating a higher number of delegates. “It really shows that people want to get together and discuss the pressing issues in our sector. I was also enthused by the number of questions and debate that the presentations drew. I would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation of the event, particularly Past President Katy Moss and Administration Assistant Georgina Nicol. Also, all the presenters and delegates on the 15 and 16 November, both the IRE Conference and Training Day were well supported.