NOVELTY - A slurry of ceramic powder, fiber, pore-former, phase (II), and organic additives is mixed with phosphate-containing reagent to produce a ceramic slip such that molar ratio of total aluminum to total phosphorus from the reagent is 4-65. The slip is mixed at a temperature between 15degreesC and less than 100degreesC. The final slurry is shaped into desired configuration to form a green component by process including chemical reaction bonding of the ceramic powder under influence of the reagent. The green component is then heated to obtain a ceramic component (20).    USE - For manufacturing ceramic component used as insulation of solid oxide fuel cells and direct carbon fuel cells, for frames of diesel particulate filters and automobile exhaust filters, for porous ceramic filters used for water or liquid filtration, for hot gas filtration, as high-temperature catalyst support, as ceramic consumable in metal and glass melting applications, as ceramic plate incorporated into body armor, as electronic or opto-electronic packaging device (all claimed), as refractory component for furnaces, as insulation for industrial heating, and in paper/pulp, automobile, coal, and power-generation industries.    ADVANTAGE - The method provides ceramic components having fine porosity, and excellent strength-to-weight ratio, and flexibility in designing multi-layered features offering multi-functionality which increases the service lifetime of insulation and refractory components. Post-machining requirements are reduced.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - A slurry of ceramic powder, fiber, pore-former, phase (II), and organic additives is mixed with phosphate-containing reagent to produce a ceramic slip such that the molar ratio of total aluminum to total phosphorus from the reagent is 4-65. The slip is mixed at a temperature between 15degreesC and less than 100degreesC. The final slurry is shaped into a desired configuration to form a green component by a process including chemical reaction bonding of the ceramic powder under influence of the reagent. The green component is then heated to obtain a ceramic component (20). The ceramic powder has a mean particle size of 1-10 microns and is dispersed in water or a mixture of water and non-aqueous solvent. The content of ceramic powder is 10-75 wt.%, the content of fiber (reinforcement phase) is 0-60 wt.%, the content of phase (II) is 0-75 wt.%, and the content of organic additives is 0-25 wt.%. The ceramic powder is alumina, alpha-alumina, boehmite, pseudo boehmite, diaspore, bauxite, beta-alumina, theta-alumina, gamma-alumina, and/or aluminum hydroxide. Phase (II) is in the form of fibers or powders chosen from carbides, nitrides, borides, silicates, oxides, sulfates, aluminates, mixed oxides, mullite, zirconia, magnesia, spinel, chrome oxide, yttria, carbon, aluminosilicate, kyanite, clay, bentonite, soda glass, iron oxide, glass frit, titania, perlite, zircon, vermiculite, silica, aluminum, iron, steel, zinc, copper, barium sulfate, zirconium diboride, calcium fluoride, pyrophillite, baddeleyite, magnesium, heat-resistant polymeric powders or fibers, and hollow or solid alumina spheres, zirconia spheres, fillite spheres, and silica spheres. The organic additives are organic dispersants, binders, plasticizers, drying aids, molding aids, preservatives, biocides, viscosity thinning aids, and/or viscosity thickening aids. The mean particle size of ceramic powder is 1-5 microns. The non-aqueous solvent is ethanol, methanol, propanol, butanol, isopropanol, hexane, acetone, benzene and/or toluene. The pore-former is chosen from carbon powder of fiber, polymeric powder or fiber, foam bubbles, sucrose, sugar, salt, agar, microcellulose, starch, and Mylar (RTM: polymer plastic). The phosphate-containing reagent is aluminum phosphate, ammonium phosphate, magnesium phosphate, and/or phosphoric acid.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows the multifunctional insulation design.    Ceramic component (20)    Bottom layer (22)    Top layer (24)