Background Shinagawa Refractories Australasia (Shinagawa) has established an enviable reputation for the manufacture and supply of quality refractory and insulating materials to the Australasian, South East Asian and Pacific Rim markets.
The Minerals Processing IndustryThe mineral processing market continues to grow and is a key market for the company. Shinagawa Refractories Australasia has kept abreast of this growth with its expanded product offering. SHIRAL burnt, phosphate bonded 70 percent alumina brick, utilised in the run-out and calcining areas of cement kilns has become an industry standard. Other vital products used in cement and mineral processing kilns include SHIRACRETE monolithics for coolers and nose rings, SHIRAGUN for cyclones, hoods, pre-calciners and coolers and the high technology SHIRAMAG magnesia spinel products in transition zones. Products are available with zircon and silicon carbide additions for improved alkali resistance. Products designed for use in reducing atmospheres, particularly the mineral sands industry, also form part of the product range.
Figure 1. A rotary calciner.
SHIRAL - Alumina Refractory BricksShinagawa offers a complete range of high quality dry pressed alumina bricks, ranging from 35% to 95% in alumina content. These materials are manufactured with state of the art equipment, including computer controlled hydraulic presses that tightly regulate brick sizing and compaction pressure.
Firing is accomplished in multi-stage kilns to ensure even and accurate burning and consistent properties. Strict quality control standards control brick appearance and inherent variables such as strength, density and porosity. This quality approach serves three product groups in the SHIRAL dry pressed brick line:
· Fired High Alumina Bricks – these are produced from premium grades of alumina’s and bauxite’s and include brick with very low porosity, high strength, high thermal shock resistance and metal slag resistance. Some special grades are manufactured with phosphate bonds or andalusite aggregate for specific applications.
· Chemically bonded High Alumina Bricks – these high alumina, phosphate bonded brick are ideally suited to steel ladle or molten aluminium furnace applications due to their unique chemistry, including special aggregates and additives.
· Superduty and Fireclay Bricks – these lower alumina grades of brick are produced to the same exacting standards as the high alumina grades. These brick exhibit good strength and spall resistance over a range of service conditions and find use in a variety of applications.
SHIRACRETE – Low Cement CastablesThe SHIRACRETE range of low cement, high technology monolithics is based on ‘state-of-the-art’ refractory castable technology using the highest quality aggregates, cements and additives. These products vary in alumina content from as much as 90% down to 45%. Superior physical properties are evident throughout the range. Low porosity plus outstanding strength and abrasion resistance are standard features of the SHIRACRETE low cement castable line.
SHIRAGUN – Low Cement Gunning RefractorySHIRAGUN is a revolutionary range of low cement gunning products. SHIRAGUN low cement gunning materials combine the excellent physical properties of low cement castables with the speed and ease of installation by gunning. These materials were developed through an extensive research and development program over a number of years. The technical advantages of SHIRAGUN products over conventional gunning products include improved strength at all temperatures, excellent abrasion resistance, very good hot properties such as creep and hot MOR and very low porosity. SHIRAGUN low cement materials also show low dust and rebound characteristics and installs overhead with no slumping due to its excellent adhesion. The patented Shinagawa Inline Preform Mixer installation system can be used to further enhance the installation characteristics and physical properties of this product range.
SHIRAMAG – Basic Monolithic RefractoriesShinagawa manufactures a range of basic refractories including magnesia, chrome magnesia and magnesia alumina spinel monolithics based on high purity magnesite and chrome ores. Magnesia contents range to 95%. Installation is by casting, gunning or ramming. With high strength and a unique bonding system they provide excellent resistance to molten metals (steel, copper, lead, alloys etc.) and slags. This family of refractories is marketed under the name SHIRAMAG.