Refractories · Kiln furniture · Foundry
Refractory Clay
Fire clay with the alumina level and thermal stability to hold shape at high temperature.
The grade
Refractory clay is fire clay for refractories, kiln furniture, and foundry. The purchase is thermal. The body has to carry enough alumina, keep iron low enough that the hot face does not flux, and hold its shape at the temperature the piece was designed for.
A white ceramic kaolin can look like a fine clay and still fail that job. A blend built for tile shrinkage will not automatically make a brick. Skylark Exports supplies refractory clay as its own grade: alumina in the fireclay band, plasticity enough to form, and stability once the kiln is hot.
The 25–40% alumina figure is a typical family band, not a certificate of analysis and not a promise of the top of that band. Name the alumina window, the forming method, and the service temperature in the inquiry, and compare the current sheet before a production trial.
What buyers check
- Alumina in the fireclay band a refractory body is designed around
- Thermal stability so the shape survives the temperature it was built for
- A body that holds form, rather than slumping as the kiln climbs
- Low enough iron that the refractory does not flux itself away
Applications
- Refractories
Refractory and kiln-furniture bodies need fire clay with alumina and a shape that survives temperature.
- Foundry
Foundries buy graded silica for moulds and cores, and refractory clay where the hot face has to hold.
Packing
- 25 kg bags, typical export packing, still to confirm
- 50 kg bags, typical export packing, still to confirm
- 1 MT jumbo bags, typical export packing, still to confirm
Questions buyers ask
What alumina is typical for refractory clay?
Fireclay used in refractories often sits in a band around 25–40% Al2O3. That is a typical range for the family, not a Skylark assay and not a claim that every shipment is 40%. Send the alumina window your brick, castable, or kiln furniture was designed to.
Will the body hold shape at temperature?
A refractory clay has to form, then stay formed when the kiln climbs. Too much plasticity and the piece slumps. Too little and it will not press or extrude. The service temperature is part of the inquiry. This page does not publish a pyrometric cone as if it were measured on our clay.
How is this different from kaolin or blended clay?
Kaolin is chosen for whiteness and, in bodies, plasticity. Blended clay is a ceramic recipe. Refractory clay is chosen for alumina and for behaviour at high temperature, in refractories, kiln furniture, and foundry. Do not substitute one for another without a trial.
How is refractory clay packed?
Typical export packing is 25 kg bags, 50 kg bags, or 1 MT jumbo bags. What Skylark offers is still to be confirmed. Include packing, quantity, and destination port with the quote request.
