Silicon Carbide (Black & Green, Metallurgical, Abrasive & Refractory)

Black and green SiC as metallurgical lumps, FEPA-graded abrasive grain and refractory aggregate

Silicon carbide under HS 2849.20 is made in the Acheson furnace, patented in 1893, by resistance-heating a bed of quartz sand and petroleum coke around a graphite core. Purity follows position in the furnace: the pale green crystals nearest the core are the purest, and the material grades to black and lower purity outward, which is why the trade splits into green SiC of up to 99.9% and black SiC of about 98–99% with iron, aluminium and free silicon as the impurities. Hardness is 9.2–9.4 on the Mohs scale, sublimation is at about 2,700°C, and the product is sold three ways. Metallurgical grade is the outer, lower-purity furnace material, crushed to lumps or granules and sold on SiC content for steelmaking, where it acts as a fuel and a silicon and carbon source in the basic oxygen furnace and electric arc furnace and lets a melt shop charge more scrap, and for iron foundries as an inoculant carrier and deoxidiser. Abrasive grade is crushed, washed and screened to the FEPA F scale, coarse F24–F80 for rough grinding and blasting, medium F100–F220 for finishing and micro-grits F400 and finer for lapping and polishing; black SiC goes into bonded wheels, coated abrasives and blasting, green SiC into precision lapping of carbides, ceramics and optics. Refractory grade is sized aggregate and fines for kiln furniture, bricks and castables, where coarse SiC gives thermal-shock resistance and wear strength.

USGS reports that China accounted for 94% of world crude silicon carbide production and 58% of ground and refined production in its 2025 summary, with the remaining furnaces in India, Brazil, Norway, the United States, Europe and Latin America serving regional abrasive and refractory demand and buyers who want a second origin. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers silicon carbide between furnace operators, processors and trader allocations on one side and steel mills, iron foundries, abrasive and refractory manufacturers on the other, in 25 kg bags and 1 MT jumbo bags in containers or bulk vessel lots for metallurgical lumps, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Offers stand against an SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek analysis of SiC, free carbon, Fe₂O₃, free silicon and SiO₂, with sieve analysis or FEPA grit certification and, for micro-grits, a particle-size distribution, plus a certificate of origin and a safety data sheet. Price is negotiated per lot on grade, SiC content and grit. Send the grade, the SiC content or F-number required and the discharge port, 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.