Development of Forsterite Refractories from Indian Olivine

Large amount of different magnesium silicate raw materials are available in the region of Karnataka and Tamilnadu, India, which did not get a wide commercial acceptance for the production of refractories even today. One such material is olivine, a by-product from the magnesite mines, which can be used for the manufacturing of forsterite refractories, a substitute for magnesite refractories in many applications. After chemical analysis of for sterite, compositional adjustment was done by adding dead burned magnesite to maximize the forsterite phase and to convert the impurities to high temperature compounds. Uniaxially pressed products of such compositions were sintered in the temperature range of 1200°—1600°C and characterized for various refractory properties.