The Scrapping Mechanism for the Corundum-Mullite Refractory Material in Rotary Kiln Incinerators

Corundum-mullite refractory material is an important material in rotary kiln incinerators due to its excellent properties, e.g., high temperature stability and chemical resistance, etc. However, in the process of use, the complexity of the sintering process will inevitably produce a large amount of spent corundum-mullite refractory material. Therefore, it is important to study the failure mechanism of corundum-mullite refractory material to prolong its service life. In this manuscript, the scrapping mechanism for the corundum-mullite refractory material was studied by XRD, XPS, SEM-EDS, FTIR, etc. The results indicate that chemical corrosion caused by impurity elements, such as Fe, Ca, Mg, Ti, etc., is one of the important scrapping mechanisms. The corundum structure remains stable throughout the service life, while mullite exhibits the opposite phenomenon. The Al-O-Si bonds in the mullite structure are depolymerized by impurity elements to release free tetrahedral structures, including the [AlO₄] tetrahedron and [SiO₄] tetrahedron. In the intervention of iron, the free tetrahedra, including [AlO₄], [FeO₄], and [SiO₄] can bond with each other by sharing bridging oxygen (BO), probably forming Fe-O(BO)-Si, Fe-O(BO)-Al, and Al-O(BO)-Si in an Al₂O₃-SiO₂-Fe₂O₃-Me_xO_y (Me = Ca, Mg, Ti, etc.)-based amorphous phase. These findings provide theoretical support for prolonging the service life of refractory materials in rotary kiln incinerators.