Burner assembly (refractory burner block, tile or quarl with its mounting plate and anchoring, through which the flame enters the furnace)
Burner block (tile, quarl) assemblies for industrial furnaces · throat size and air metering, flame-stabilising ledges, silicon carbide extension pieces, sectioned blocks for thermal growth, anchoring to the mounting plate
A burner assembly here is the refractory part of a burner installation: the burner block, also called tile or quarl, set into the furnace wall with its mounting plate and anchors, with a throat that the combustion air and flame pass through. Ask three things first: what throat size and shape the burner maker specifies for your firing rate, what temperature and atmosphere the block face sees, and how the block is anchored so it can expand without cracking.
Refractory burner blocks (tiles, quarls, port blocks) and their mounting plates, anchors and ceramic extension pieces for industrial furnaces, heaters and kilns, as new or replacement assemblies. Complete burners with fuel trains and controls are covered on the Industrial burner page; ladle preheating stations on the Ladle preheating station page; combustion systems with air preheat on the Industrial furnace combustion system page; fuel nozzles and combustion air blowers have their own pages.
CNFX editorial research · Sources checked October 12, 2026 · 3 sources
Throat, ledges and flame shape: what the tile does to the flame
John Zink calls the burner tile "the heart of the burner" and explains its jobs: the throat "is designed to allow a precise amount of air into the combustion reaction at a given pressure drop", so a throat too small restricts air and raises CO while one too large lets in excess air, lowering efficiency and increasing NOx; channels in the tile promote fuel-air mixing; ledges and shoulders create low-pressure areas that anchor the flame; and the tile shapes a flat or round flame so it does not impinge on heater tubes. [1]
John Zink lists the results of a wrongly designed, installed or maintained tile as flame instability, flame impingement on process tubes, high emissions and poor air control, and advises following the burner maker's installation specifications, verifying tile position and throat size before start-up, and inspecting tiles for "cracks, erosion, or improper fit". [1]
Give the block supplier the burner make and model or drawing, firing rate and fuel, throat diameter and profile, furnace wall thickness and lining, face temperature and atmosphere, mounting plate and anchor design, whether a ceramic extension piece is wanted, and the quantity of blocks and spares.
02
Face temperature, silicon carbide extension pieces and blocks that grow in sections
A Bloom Engineering patent on burner port block assemblies notes that the port block, "also known as a tile or a quarl", runs unusually hot and "can reach surface temperatures in excess of 2800° F". Its assembly puts a ceramic extension piece, which "may be comprised of silicon carbide" such as pre-fired nitrided silicon carbide for thermal shock resistance, into the block's central passage, held by lips and bulges, with fibre board on the block's furnace face. [2]
A 2025 US patent describes a burner block made of four separate sections that "each allow for independent thermal growth during operation", fixed by tabs or clips from the mounting plate into grooves in the refractory, because embedded alloy anchors expand differently from the refractory. [3]
Editorial conversion: 2,800 °F is (2,800 - 32) ÷ 1.8 ≈ 1,538 °C. [2]
03
Block body, throat, extension piece, face board, mounting plate and anchors
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Compiled and source-reviewed by the CNFX editorial team.
Each manufacturer above links to the page on that company's own website where the product is listed, with the date we checked it. How we source and review
· Page last updated 13 October 2026
Buyer questions
How is a burner assembly different from a burner?
This page covers the refractory block, tile or quarl and its mounting; complete burners with fuel trains are on the Industrial burner page. [1][2]
Why does the throat size matter?
John Zink says the throat meters combustion air: too small raises CO, too large raises NOx and lowers efficiency. [1]
How hot does a burner block get?
A Bloom Engineering patent says port blocks can exceed 2,800 °F (about 1,538 °C) at the surface. [2]
How do blocks avoid cracking from expansion?
One patent splits the block into four sections that grow independently and fixes them with clips into grooves instead of embedded anchors. [3]
Sources and what still needs a direct check
Sources checked 2026-10-12. John Zink explains what a burner tile does; Bloom Engineering and an individual inventor's patents describe burner port block assemblies.
