Thanks to carbon’s high thermal conductivity, low thermal
expansion coefficient and non-wettability by slag, carboncontaining
refractory bricks (CCRBs) show much better
physicochemical properties and performance than their carbonfree
oxide-based counterparts. During the past three decades,
CCRBs have been extensively and successfully applied to line
important steel-making furnaces such as converters and ladles
and to make functional devices for steel flow control (such as
nozzles, stoppers and sliding gates).1–3 On the other hand, compared
to CCRBs, only limited success has been made in the
development and application of carbon-containing refractory
castables. Despite the significant R&D work carried out, incorporation
of sufficient levels of carbon to a castable system still
remains a great challenge, due to several technical difficulties,