Systemic Analysis for the Selection of Anode Baking Furnace Refractories

Purchasing and installing refractory materials are some of the major baking furnaces' costs. Usually, the products are selected considering the corrosion during operation. Nevertheless, other variables may affect their performance and must be evaluated. Because of the height of the flues (and the high temperatures), a load is imposed at the bottom part of the furnace and, thus, creep analysis is important. In parallel, loading and unloading anodes can cause mechanical damages, that may be evaluated. Over-heating is another processing drawback and determining the refractory's maximum service temperature is required, as well as the thermal shock due to constant sections' heating-cooling cycles. Finally, the thermal conductivity may be analyzed as this is a critical parameter to the anodes' thermal treatment. Based on this approach, various materials were evaluated, pointing out the best options, considering not only the technical potential but also the savings on purchasing high-performance but low-cost refractory materials.