The use of leucoxene concentrate -a waste from the Yaregskoe Petrochemical Field -as a carbide-forming additive for obtaining ceramic foam materials is examined. Comparative physical -mechanical, thermophysical, and electrical characteristics of the ceramic foam materials obtained are presented and new carbide-forming formulas are proposed.The development and adoption of highly effective materials that work reliably under extreme conditions is very topical. Under the action of high temperatures and chemically corrosive media, the well-known metallic and ceramic materials in many cases cannot provide the required longevity of structures.Ceramic foam and carbide foam materials based on polymers which foam up because of their specific chemical and physical properties have found extensive applications in the last few years. These materials retain all high characteristics of carbides but their density is low because of their porous structure.The carbothermal method was used to obtain ceramic foam and carbide foam materials. Carbon microspheres (CM) were introduced into the initial mixture to ensure porosity. The liquid carbonizing binder (phenolformaldehyde resin -PFR) was the main supplier of the carbon reducing agent. Finely dispersed powders of titanium and silicon as well as their oxides were used as the carbide-forming additives.However, even though ceramic foam materials have good thermophysical and physical -mechanical properties, they are not extensively used because of the high cost of the carbon microspheres, which are obtained by carbonization of phenol microspheres (PM) at 800°C, and the powders of the metals as well as their oxides.The objective of the present investigation is to find a suitable substitute for carbide-forming materials and poreforming material without degrading the physical -mechanical and thermophysical properties of the ceramic foam materials.Leucoxene concentrate (LC) -a waste from the Yaregskoe Petrochemical Works -can serve as a good carbideforming additive for the production of ceramic foam materials, since it is mainly a mixture of silicon and titanium oxides (30% 2 SiO 2 , 60% TiO 2 ), capable of forming carbides. Hollow ceramic microspheres (HCM) can be used as the pore formers. Abroad, these materials are called cenospheres. HCM comprise part of the smoke emissions of coal-burning heat plants. The main components of HCM are SiO 2 (60%) and Al 2 O 3 (28%).The physical -mechanical properties of ceramic foam materials are presented in Table 1. Analysis of the measurements of the apparent density, compression strength, thermal conductivity, and resistivity of the samples shows the following.As the amount of leucoxene decreases and the mass of the microspheres increases in the initial mixture, the apparent density of the foam materials decreases in all cases, irrespective of the type of microspheres. When the amount of leucoxene introduced exceeds 50%, the density becomes a linear function of the microsphere content (MS).The density of a material with HCM is much higher -(1.1 -1.6)´1...

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