RefractoryAdditives.com is an independent reference on refractory materials: the shaped, monolithic and insulating products that line high-temperature industrial equipment, and the grains, binders and additives they are made from. Who compiles it, from which sources, and who pays for it?
ISO 836:2001 defines a refractory without a temperature threshold, while ASTM C71-12(2024) draws the US boundary at 538 °C (1000 °F). Both definitions, and the classes that follow from them, are set out on the refractory materials overview.
Every value names its standard and edition, the product data sheet or the dated source it comes from; see our methodology and fact-checking process.
What RefractoryAdditives.com Covers#
RefractoryAdditives.com covers refractory materials in eight sections: shaped refractories, monolithic refractories, refractory insulation, raw materials, binders and additives, properties and tests, the industries that consume refractories, and lining practice. Every product class is described by chemistry, standard class, properties, uses and installation. Health rules that apply to refractory work, namely crystalline silica, ceramic fiber, hexavalent chromium and pitch, sit in their own pages.
The eight sections of the reference are listed below.
- refractory bricks: shaped refractories from fireclay brick to fused-cast blocks
- monolithic refractories: castables, plastics, ramming, gunning mixes and mortars
- refractory insulation: ceramic fiber, insulating firebrick, boards and microporous products
- refractory raw materials: aluminas, aluminosilicates, magnesia, zircon, carbon and silicon carbide
- refractory additives and binders: cements, dispersants, antioxidants, fibers and binders
- properties of refractory materials: what each data-sheet value means and how it is tested
- refractories by industry: steel, cement, glass, non-ferrous, petrochemical and power linings
- refractory practice: lining design, installation, dry-out, inspection and repair
Standards, comparisons, safety, sourcing and news hang below these eight sections.
Who the Reference Is Written For#
The reference is written for five groups of readers: refractory engineers, plant maintenance staff, procurement staff, refractory contractors and formulators of refractory mixes. Engineers and formulators read the class and property pages first, buyers the specification and sourcing sections, and contractors the installation and dry-out pages.
Why Binders and Additives Run Through Every Page#
Binders and additives decide how a refractory sets, dries and resists heat, so every product and industry page carries a section on them. The instances are calcium aluminate cement, dispersants, microsilica, antioxidants, fibers, and phosphate and colloidal silica binders. The additives section treats each of them as its own page, and this page gives no dosage.
Where the Facts Come From#
Every value on RefractoryAdditives.com comes from a named primary source: the standard itself, the regulation, an agency publication, a peer-reviewed journal, or a producer data sheet for the one product it describes. ASTM Committee C08 on Refractories covers specifications, classifications, test methods and definitions of terms, and meets twice a year. ISO/TC 33 and CEN/TC 187 publish the ISO and EN refractory standards. API publishes the refinery lining set: API Std 936, 5th ed., March 2024; API Std 975, 2nd ed., April 2025; API Std 976, 2nd ed., October 2024; and API RP 982, 1st ed., 2023.
Table 1 lists the source types and what each one supplies.
| Source type | Examples | What it supplies | Link rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standards bodies | ASTM Committee C08, ISO/TC 33, CEN/TC 187, API | classifications, test methods, terms, editions | cited, followed |
| Regulators and official registers | EUR-Lex (CLP Annex VI, Directive (EU) 2017/2398), ECHA, eCFR (29 CFR 1910), OSHA | hazard classifications, exposure limits, restrictions | cited, followed |
| Agencies | NIOSH, IARC, USGS | health assessments, carcinogen groups, mineral commodity data | cited, followed |
| Peer-reviewed journals and conference papers | journal articles, UNITECR proceedings | mechanisms, class ranges from reviews | cited, followed |
| Producer data sheets | named product data sheets | one typical value of one named product | cited, nofollow |
| Never used | encyclopedias, copies of standards on third-party hosts | n/a | not cited |
Regulatory values are cited from the instrument itself, for example CLP Annex VI, Directive (EU) 2017/2398 or 29 CFR 1910, with its date.
How Values Are Labeled and Fact-Checked#
Each property value carries one of two labels: a standard requirement, given with the standard, its edition and the class, or a typical value of a named product, given with its producer data sheet. A data-sheet value describes one product and never sets a class limit. Every standard carries its edition and reapproval year, for example ASTM C27-98(2022).
Editions change, and the pages follow. EN ISO 10059-1:2025 replaced EN 993-5:2018 for cold crushing strength on 2025-12-09. The checks behind each label are described under methodology and fact-checking.
How RefractoryAdditives.com Stays Independent#
RefractoryAdditives.com is independent: no company pays for placement, no ranking is sold, and no supplier, contractor or producer is a partner of the site. A maker appears only as the source of one data-sheet value, never as a recommendation.
Prices appear only as dated ranges or as the factors that move a quote. Market sizes appear only as named analyst estimates with publisher and year. The site runs no analytics and no advertising vendors.
How source choice, request disclosure and corrections are handled is set out in full. The editorial policy on independence and corrections holds the rules.
How Supplier and Contractor Requests Work#
RefractoryAdditives.com passes two kinds of request: a specification for refractory products, raw materials or additives goes to independent suppliers, and an installation, dry-out or repair job goes to independent contractors. The forms carry this wording: "Requests go to independent suppliers and contractors. No company pays for placement; see our editorial policy."
The two request forms and the data rule are listed below.
- request refractory quotes: "Send one specification to independent suppliers."
- free refractory contractor match: "We pass your request to independent contractors who install and repair refractory linings."
- privacy policy: form data kept for 24 months
The forms ask only what a quote needs: product or class, quantity, specification, service temperature and country. Form submissions are kept for 24 months from submission. The site names no company on the forms.
Who Writes RefractoryAdditives.com#
How to Report an Error or Contact the Editorial Team#
Errors are reported to editorial@refractoryadditives.com, checked against the primary source the value cites, and corrected on the page. A report helps most when it names the page, the value and the source that contradicts it.
Questions about the site, sources or requests go through the contact form. Messages reach the editorial team through the contact the editorial team page.
Topics Outside This Reference#
RefractoryAdditives.com stops at refractory materials and the industrial linings made from them. Out of scope are minerals as minerals (mining, gems, ore trade), furnaces and kilns as machines, refractory metals such as tungsten and molybdenum, the medical sense of "refractory", technical ceramics and construction boards. Fire pits, pizza ovens, fireplaces and hobby kilns are consumer uses this reference does not cover.