Patent 7655587 was granted and assigned to Saint-Gobain on February, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The invention provides a novel fused and cast refractory product with a high zirconia content having improved electrical resistivity. Said refractory product comprises, as a percentage by weight relative to the oxides and for a total of more than 98.5%:ZrO2+Hf2O: >85%SiO2: 1% to 12%Al2O3: 0.1% to 2.4%, with Al2O3/SiO2<0.5Y2O3: ≦1%,B2O3: <1.5%; anda dopant selected from the group formed by V2O5, CrO3, Nb2O5, MoO3, Ta2O5, WO3, and mixtures thereof, in a weighted quantity such that:0.2%≦2.43V2O5+8.84CrO3+1.66Nb2O5+6.14MoO3+Ta2O5+3.81WO3.