Effect of CeO ₂ Addition on the Wettability between Cerium Oxide‐Containing Refining Slag and MgO Refractory

The wettability between the CeO 2 ‐containing refining slag and the MgO refractory is studied. Compared with the CeO 2 ‐free slag, the measured hemispherical temperature of the slag increases from 1385 to 1435 °C after adding 5 wt% CeO 2 and then gradually decreases to 1341 °C with the further increase of the CeO 2 content to ≈15 wt%. The actual contact angle between slag and MgO substrate increases slightly from 39° to 41° and then decreases relatively significantly to 36° with the increase of the CeO 2 content in slag, reaching its maximum and minimum value at the CeO 2 content of 5 wt% and 10 wt%, respectively. The penetration depth is influenced by multiple factors such as wettability between slag and refractory, slag viscosity, and interfacial tension comprehensively. The penetration depth increases significantly at the initial 10 min and then slightly increases during the subsequent soaking process. After 60 min soaking at 1600 °C, the penetration depth of the slag into the MgO refractory decreases from ≈1200 to 1125 μm as the CeO 2 content in slag increases from 0 to 10 wt%, and then slightly increases to 1160 μm at the CeO 2 content of 15 wt%. It is recommended that the CeO 2 content in the refining slag should not exceed 10 wt%.