During the reporting meeting, the presented substantive and financial reports for 2023 were accepted without reservations by the members of the Association and appropriate resolutions were adopted.
In the further part of the meeting, Dr. Jacek Podwórny from the Centre for Refractory Materials ICIMB Łukasiewicz presented a proposal to submit an application to the National Centre for Research and Development for financing a new project with partners from FGF and Hochschule Koblenz as part of the competition on the initiative of CORNET. The implementation of the ViscoTherm project entitled “Improvement of thermal shock resistance of high-alumina refractory products through controlled formation of the liquid phase” should enable:
• Gaining knowledge on the rational way of influencing the improvement of resistance to thermal shock by changing the nature of the material from brittle to viscoplastic in a certain range around the operating temperature by controlling the parameters of the liquid phase.
The liquid phase is to be formed in specific places in the microstructure of the material, and its source is to be impurities of raw materials used in production introduced in a controlled manner.
• Indication of raw material compositions enabling the appropriate selection of components forming the alloy, ensuring the formation of phases compensating for the thermal expansion of the main phase in the material until its formation, and crystallization of phases fulfilling a similar role under cooling conditions.
During the discussion, the members of SPMO expressed their interest in the issues of the project and accepted the cooperation with research teams from Polish and Germany and the preparation of an appropriate application, and unanimously adopted an appropriate resolution
Then, the current state of preparations for participation in the meeting of SPMO members with members of the Czech-Slovak association of manufacturers of refractory materials organized in Slovakia on 16-17.04.br was discussed , and the President reminded the participants of the meeting about the PRE Congress, which will take place on 19-21.06 in Hamburg.
At the end of the meeting, President T. Biliński presented important issues discussed during the last meeting of the PRE Executive Committee, including:
• PRE Working Group on OSH and PRE Competition
• Joint Purchasing of Gas and the EU Energy Platform
• Implementation of the “Fit for 55” package
• The revision of the EU Emissions Trading System
• Carbon Border Tax (CBAM)