Refractories are consumed, not installed once. That single fact makes the price per ton of material a misleading basis for comparison — what matters is how many kilograms you consume to produce one ton of steel, cement or glass.
The number that actually matters
Specific consumption — kilograms of refractory per ton of product — converts price into cost. A grade at a 30% higher price that lasts twice as long is materially cheaper, and no amount of negotiating on the unit price closes that gap.
| Grade A | Grade B | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per kg | 50 | 65 |
| Specific consumption (kg/t) | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Cost per ton of product | 75 | 71.5 |
Grade B is 30% more expensive per kilogram and still cheaper per ton produced. Multiply that difference by annual tonnage and the gap is rarely small.
What the calculation leaves out
Two costs sit outside it and are usually larger than the refractory itself: production stoppage during a reline, and the effect of lining performance on product quality. A lining that fails mid-campaign costs far more in lost output than it ever saved on purchase.
How to compare fairly
- Take specific consumption from your own plant data, not from a datasheet — it varies widely between furnaces and grades.
- Compare over a full campaign, not a single heat.
- Include the cost of the downtime each option implies.
- Ask the supplier what specific consumption their grade achieves in a plant like yours, and on what evidence.