Refractory in the context of Titanium carbide

Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire clay. This definition excludes stone vessels that are carved from a solid chunk of stone. End applications of stoneware include tableware and decorative ware such as vases.

Stoneware is fired at between about 1,100 °C (2,010 °F) to 1,300 °C (2,370 °F). Historically, reaching such temperatures was a long-lasting challenge, and temperatures somewhat below these were used for a long time.

Solid is a state of matter in which atoms are closely packed and are difficult to move past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree of resistance being dependent upon the specific material under consideration. Solids also always possess the least amount of kinetic energy per atom/molecule relative to other phases or, equivalently stated, solids are formed when matter in the liquid / gas phase is cooled below a certain temperature. This temperature is called the melting point of the substance and is an intrinsic property; i.e. independent of how much of the matter there is. The vast majority of substances, when in the solid state, can be arranged in one of a few ubiquitous structures.

Solids are characterized by structural rigidity and resistance to applied external forces and pressure. Unlike liquids, solids do not flow to take on the shape of their container, nor do they expand to fill the entire available volume like a gas. Much like the other three fundamental phases, solids also expand when heated, the thermal energy put into increasing the distance and reducing the potential energy between atoms. However, solids do this to a much lesser extent. When heated to their melting point or sublimation point, solids melt into a liquid or sublimate directly into a gas, respectively. For solids that directly sublimate into a gas, the melting point is replaced by the sublimation point. As a rule of thumb, melting will occur if the subjected pressure is higher than the substance's triple point pressure, and sublimation will occur otherwise. Melting and melting points refer exclusively to transitions between solids and liquids. Melting occurs across a great extent of temperatures, ranging from 0.10 K for helium-3 under 30 bars (3 MPa) of pressure, to around 4,100 K at 1 atm for the composite refractory material hafnium carbonitride.

Bioleaching is the extraction or liberation of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. Bioleaching is one of several applications within biohydrometallurgy and several methods are used to treat ores or concentrates containing copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver, and cobalt.

Bioleaching falls into two broad categories. The first, is the use of microorganisms to oxidize refractory minerals to release valuable metals such and gold and silver. Most commonly the minerals that are the target of oxidization are pyrite and arsenopyrite.

Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula Al₂O₃. It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly called alumina and may also be called aloxide, aloxite, ALOX or alundum in various forms and applications and alumina is refined from bauxite. It occurs naturally in its crystalline polymorphic phase α-Al₂O₃ as the mineral corundum, varieties of which form the precious gemstones ruby and sapphire, which have an alumina content approaching 100%. Al₂O₃ is used as feedstock to produce aluminium metal, as an abrasive owing to its hardness, and as a refractory material owing to its high melting point.

Investment casting is an industrial process based on lost-wax casting, one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques. The term "lost-wax casting" can also refer to modern investment casting processes.

Investment casting has been used in various forms for the last 5,000 years. In its earliest forms, beeswax was used to form patterns necessary for the casting process. Today, more advanced waxes, refractory materials and specialist alloys are typically used for making patterns. Investment casting is valued for its ability to produce components with accuracy, repeatability, versatility and integrity in a variety of metals and high-performance alloys.

Zirconium is a chemical element; it has symbol Zr and atomic number 40. First identified in 1789, isolated in impure form in 1824, and manufactured at scale by 1925, pure zirconium is a lustrous transition metal with a greyish-white color that closely resembles hafnium and, to a lesser extent, titanium. It is solid at room temperature, ductile, malleable and corrosion-resistant. The name zirconium is derived from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian zargun (zircon; zar-gun, "gold-like" or "as gold"). Besides zircon, zirconium occurs in over 140 other minerals, including baddeleyite and eudialyte; most zirconium is produced as a byproduct of minerals mined for titanium and tin.

Zirconium forms a variety of inorganic compounds, such as zirconium dioxide, and organometallic compounds, such as zirconocene dichloride. Five isotopes occur naturally, four of which are stable. The metal and its alloys are mainly used as a refractory and opacifier; zirconium alloys are used to clad nuclear fuel rods due to their low neutron absorption and strong resistance to corrosion, and in space vehicles and turbine blades where high heat resistance is necessary. Zirconium also finds uses in flashbulbs, biomedical applications such as dental implants and prosthetics, deodorant, and water purification systems.

A rotary kiln is a pyroprocessing device used to raise materials to a high temperature (calcination) in a continuous process. Materials produced using rotary kilns include:

• Cement
• Lime
• Refractories
• Metakaolin
• Titanium dioxide
• Alumina
• Vermiculite
• Iron ore pellets
• Incineration of biomedical waste
• process like pyrolysis {with without passing hot gases}

They are also used for roasting a wide variety of sulfide ores prior to metal extraction.

Black carbon (BC) is the light-absorbing refractory form of elemental carbon remaining after pyrolysis (e.g., charcoal) or produced by incomplete combustion (e.g. soot).

Tihomir Novakov originated the term black carbon in the 1970s, after identifying black carbon as fine particulate matter (PM ≤ 2.5 μm aerodynamic diameter) in aerosols. Aerosol black carbon occurs in several linked forms. Formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass, black carbon is one of the main types of soot particle in both anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. As soot, black carbon causes disease and premature death. Because of these human health impacts, many countries have worked to reduce their emissions.

Electrocoagulation (EC) is a technique used for wastewater treatment, wash water treatment, industrially processed water, and medical treatment. Electrocoagulation has become a rapidly growing area of wastewater treatment due to its ability to remove contaminants that are generally more difficult to remove by filtration or chemical treatment systems, such as emulsified oil, total petroleum hydrocarbons, refractory organics, suspended solids, and heavy metals. There are many brands of electrocoagulation devices available, and they can range in complexity from a simple anode and cathode to much more complex devices with control over electrode potentials, passivation, anode consumption, cell REDOX potentials as well as the introduction of ultrasonic sound, ultraviolet light and a range of gases and reactants to achieve so-called Advanced Oxidation Processes for refractory or recalcitrant organic substances.

Periclase is a magnesium mineral that occurs naturally in contact metamorphic rocks and is a major component of most basic refractory bricks. It is a cubic form of magnesium oxide (MgO). In nature it usually forms a solid solution with wüstite (FeO) and is then referred to as ferropericlase or magnesiowüstite.

It was first described in 1840 and named from the Greek περικλάω (to break around) in allusion to its cleavage. The type locality is Monte Somma, Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples Province, Campania, Italy.

Sodium silicate is a generic name for chemical compounds with the formula Na
_2xSi
_yO
_2y+x or (Na
₂O)
_x·(SiO
₂)
_y, such as sodium metasilicate (Na
₂SiO
₃), sodium orthosilicate (Na
₄SiO
₄), and sodium pyrosilicate (Na
₆Si
₂O
₇). The anions are often polymeric. These compounds are generally colorless transparent solids or white powders, and soluble in water in various amounts.

Sodium silicate is also the technical and common name for a mixture of such compounds, chiefly the metasilicate, also called waterglass, water glass, or liquid glass. The product has a wide variety of uses, including the formulation of cements, coatings, passive fire protection, textile and lumber processing, manufacture of refractory ceramics, as adhesives, and in the production of silica gel. The commercial product, available in water solution or in solid form, is often greenish or blue owing to the presence of iron-containing impurities.

Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of aluminium (Al₂O₃·2SiO₂·2H₂O) with or without free silica."

Boron nitride is a thermally and chemically resistant refractory compound of boron and nitrogen with the chemical formula BN. It exists in various crystalline forms that are isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice. The hexagonal form corresponding to graphite is the most stable and soft among BN polymorphs, and is therefore used as a lubricant and an additive to cosmetic products. The cubic (zincblende aka sphalerite structure) variety analogous to diamond is called c-BN; it is softer than diamond, but its thermal and chemical stability is superior.

Because of excellent thermal and chemical stability, boron nitride ceramics are used in high-temperature equipment and metal casting. Boron nitride has potential use in nanotechnology.

Baddeleyite is a rare zirconium oxide mineral (ZrO₂ or zirconia), occurring in a variety of monoclinic prismatic crystal forms. It is transparent to translucent, has high indices of refraction, and ranges from colorless to yellow, green, and dark brown. See etymology below.

Baddeleyite is a refractory mineral, with a melting point of 2700 °C. Hafnium is a substituting impurity and may be present in quantities ranging from 0.1 to several percent.

Calcium aluminates are a range of materials obtained by heating calcium oxide and aluminium oxide together at high temperatures. They are encountered in the manufacture of refractories and cements.

The stable phases shown in the phase diagram (formed at atmospheric pressure under an atmosphere of normal humidity) are: