Blasch Precision Ceramics: ferrules, silicon carbide nozzles, StaBlox and VectorWall

How to choose a Blasch ceramic part

Selection starts with the unit and the process medium.

For steam methane reformers Blasch offers StaBlox flue gas tunnels, for Claus reaction furnaces VectorWall and HexWall checkerwalls, for waste heat boilers ferrules, for desulphurization and fluidized bed boilers silicon carbide nozzles, for metal melting crucibles, thermocouple protection tubes and molten aluminum parts, and for mining and pneumatic conveying wear linings.

The material is chosen by abrasion, temperature and contact with molten metal: oxide, nitride or reaction bonded silicon carbide, alumina, mullite or aluminum titanate.

Reformer flue gas tunnels

StaBlox is a flue gas tunnel system for top-fired steam methane reformers. The blocks interlock without mortar, expansion joints are built into every block, and a tunnel is assembled in hours instead of days.

Tunnel mass drops by 60%. With BD Energy Systems TOP technology methane slip falls by 2–3%. The system is covered by U.S. Patent 10,605,456.

Reaction furnace checkerwalls

VectorWall and HexWall are built from six-sided blocks with tabs and slots, made in a creep-resistant mullite bonded composition.

VectorWall is used in Claus sulfur recovery reaction furnaces. It installs without mortar and can be quickly taken apart and rebuilt during turnarounds.

Heat exchanger and boiler ferrules

OXYTRON silicon carbide ferrules are inserted at the inlet and outlet ends of heat exchanger tubes to protect the welds and the first inches of the tube. Round and hex ferrules are made of 99% alumina and metallic alloys.

Applications include sulfur recovery units, thermal oxidizers, waste heat boilers and catalyst coolers. ProLok two-piece ferrules form a tubesheet protection system; a ferrule design developed with CITGO is covered by US Patent 7,574,981.

Metal melting

High alumina crucibles for coreless induction furnaces up to 5,000-pound capacity serve air and vacuum induction melting. Standard thermocouple protection tubes have a 44.5 mm outer diameter, 25.4 mm inner diameter and lengths from 228.6 to 1,219.2 mm.

Altech aluminum titanate riser tubes are 100% leak-down tested; porous and rotary degassers are covered by US Patent 6,378,847.

Wear linings

CeraLine ceramic lined elbows come as a unit with steel pipe and flanges and often extend life by 2–10x. Silicon carbide cyclone and hydrocyclone liners are available up to 60 inches in diameter and weigh one-third of steel parts.

For pumps Blasch supplies suction side plates, impellers, seals and linings. Desulphurization and fluidized bed nozzles are made of Nitron, Oxytron, Altron and Invincer silicon carbide.

Blasch materials

OXYTRON is oxide bonded silicon carbide with 14% apparent porosity and one-third the weight of iron parts. NITRON is nitride bonded silicon carbide with 16% apparent porosity. InVinCer (RBSC) contains 86% SiC and 14% Si and has a modulus of rupture of 260 MPa.

Mullite resists creep and thermal shock, and Altech aluminum titanate resists wetting by aluminum alloys.

The manufacturer

Blasch Precision Ceramics, Inc. is a US manufacturer of net shape ceramic and refractory components, active since 1979 and headquartered in Albany, New York. The company is employee-owned (ESOP).

Material grade, dimensions and lead time are stated in the quotation for each project.