Refractory Castables & Mortars (Dense, Insulating, LCC / ULCC)

Dense and insulating castables, low- and ultra-low-cement grades, gunning mixes and air-setting mortars by alumina content and service temperature

A castable is a graded refractory aggregate (fireclay, bauxite, andalusite, tabular or fused alumina, mullite, spinel) bonded with calcium aluminate cement and fine reactive fillers such as microsilica and calcined alumina, delivered dry and placed with water by vibration, pumping or gunning. The classification the trade uses is by lime content from the cement. ASTM C401 classes alumina and alumina-silicate castables with bulk density above 1.68 g/cm³ by CaO: conventional castables carry roughly 15–25% cement, low-cement castables (LCC) about 1.0–2.5% CaO, ultra-low-cement (ULCC) 0.2–1.0% CaO, and no-cement castables below that, with medium-cement (MCC) sitting between conventional and LCC. EN ISO 1927-1 is the European classification of unshaped refractories covering castables, gunning, ramming and plastic materials and jointing mortars. Less cement means less water, higher hot strength and better slag and thermal-shock resistance, at the cost of a narrower water window and stricter mixing and curing discipline on site. Insulating castables are specified on bulk density and thermal conductivity rather than strength. The buyer also names Al₂O₃ content, maximum service temperature, cold crushing strength and modulus of rupture after drying and after firing, permanent linear change, and, for gunning mixes, rebound. Refractory mortars are air-setting or heat-setting jointing compounds matched to the brick they bond and are traded under the same heading.

Customs heading 3816 covers refractory cements, mortars, concretes and similar compositions other than the carbon-based preparations of 3801. The producers are the refractory houses of China, India, Türkiye and Germany, several of which run plants on more than one continent; buyers are cement plants relining kiln hoods, coolers and preheater cyclones, steel mills for ladle and tundish linings, aluminium smelters and casthouses, petrochemical and refinery furnaces, incinerators and boilers, and the installation contractors who work for them. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers castables, gunning mixes and mortars from those producers to end users and contractors against the manufacturer's technical data sheet and batch certificate (chemistry, bulk density, CCS and MOR at stated temperatures, PLC, water addition and setting time), a safety data sheet, and a certificate of origin, packed in 25 kg moisture-barrier bags on shrink-wrapped pallets or 1 MT jumbo bags in 20-ft containers, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Shelf life is limited to the period on the maker's sheet, so production date and dry storage are written into the order. Raw materials for refractories (bauxite, magnesia, andalusite, fused alumina) have their own page; Chinese magnesia-based products should be checked against the current export licence catalogue. Price is agreed per MT on grade and pack. Send the application (kiln zone, ladle, furnace), service temperature, Al₂O₃ and density class, the placement method and monthly or project tonnage and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

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Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.