Cement Manufacturing
Cement Practice
Refractories from the Chemical Point of View
Refractory selection and failure understood chemically, not just as a materials catalogue.
- Duration
- 5 days
- Contact hours
- 30
- Level
- Intermediate
- Fee from
- US$1,500
Overview
Refractory lining is one of the largest maintenance costs in cement and most premature failure is chemical rather than mechanical. This week approaches it from the chemistry: refractory mineralogy and phase behaviour, the attack mechanisms by alkalis, sulphur and chloride, redox effects in a reducing atmosphere, and what alternative fuels change about all of it. Selection by zone and installation practice follow, so that the material choice and the way it is installed are treated as one decision.
Who should attend
Refractory engineers and specialists, kiln and maintenance engineers, process engineers whose operation affects lining life, and procurement staff specifying refractories.
What you will be able to do
- Describe refractory classes and their chemical behaviour.
- Explain alkali, sulphur and chloride attack mechanisms.
- Account for redox and atmosphere effects on lining life.
- Select materials by zone and by the conditions actually present.
- Diagnose a failure from the evidence in the removed lining.
How it is taught
Short input, then work, across 5 days of roughly 6 teaching hours each. Exercises run on situations delegates bring rather than on a case study written for a different organisation. Cohorts are capped so that everybody is asked something.
Available as classroom, live online, in house.
Programme outline
Day 1
Materials
- Basic, high alumina and insulating refractories
- Phase composition and thermal behaviour
- Bricks, castables and their different failure modes
Day 2
Chemical attack
- Alkali attack and alkali bursting
- Sulphur and chloride infiltration
- Clinker liquid penetration
Day 3
Atmosphere
- Reducing conditions and redox damage
- Alternative fuels and the species they introduce
- Thermal cycling and spalling
Day 4
Selection
- Zone by zone requirements
- Coating behaviour and its interaction with the lining
- Cost against expected life
Day 5
Installation and diagnosis
- Installation quality and heat up schedules
- Anchoring and expansion allowance
- Reading a removed lining for the cause of failure
What you leave with
- A zone by zone refractory specification.
- A failure diagnosis from a real case.
- An installation and heat up specification.
Dates and fees
| Dates | Location | Format | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 to 27 November 2026 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 30 November 2026 to 4 December 2026 | Cairo, Egypt | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Nicosia, Cyprus | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 14 to 18 December 2026 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Classroom | US$1,500 |
Fees are per delegate and cover tuition, all programme materials and the certificate. Travel, accommodation and visas are arranged by the delegate. Registration closes two weeks before a programme starts.
Certificate
A GATI certificate recording what was attended, issued after the programme has run and attendance has been taken. Attending at least 80 per cent of the days earns a certificate of completion; attending less earns a certificate of attendance stating exactly what was attended. Every certificate carries a code that anybody can check against GATI's own record.
It records participation. and GATI does not claim one it does not hold.