Aluminum on IndustryNet

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Aluminum is the most widespread metal on earth: making up about 8.8% of the planet’s crust. Due to its chemical reactivity, you can not find it in free form – it is found only in chemical compounds with other elements such as silicon, sulfur, and oxygen. Pure, metallic aluminum can be economically produced only from aluminum oxide ore.

Aluminum production starts with the raw material bauxite, a clay like soil type found in a belt around the equator. The bauxite is mined from a few meters below the ground,and then transported to plants where the clay is washed off and the bauxite goes through a grinder. Alumina, or aluminium oxide, is extracted from the bauxite through refining.Alumina is separated from the bauxite by using a hot solution of caustic soda and lime. The mixture is heated and filtered, and the remaining alumina is dried to a white powder.

After that, it goes to the metal plant, where the refined alumina becomes aluminum. Three different raw materials are needed to make aluminum: aluminum oxide, electricity and carbon. Electricity is run between a carbon negative cathode and a positive anode. The anode reacts with the oxygen in the alumina and forms CO2. The result is liquid aluminum, which is cast into extrusion ingots, sheet ingots or foundry alloys, all depending on what it will be used for. The aluminum is transformed into different products. The extrusion technique has almost unlimited possibilities for design and offers countless application opportunities. In the extrusion process, the aluminum ingot is heated and pressed through a shaped tool called a die.

Aluminum is very ductile. Foil can be rolled from 60 cm to 2-6 mm, and final foil product can be as thin as 0.006 mm. It still will not let light, aroma or taste in or out. Sheet ingots are used for making the rolled products, such as plates, strip and foil. Aluminum foundry alloys are cast in different shapes. The metal will be remelted once again and made into, for example, wheel rims or other car parts. The content in foundry alloys can be customized to fit their further use.

Aluminum can be recycled over and over again with 100 percent efficiency. That means that none of aluminum’s natural qualities will be lost in the recycling process.The recycled product may be once again made into the original product, or it can be used to make something completely different. Aircraft, automobiles, bicycles, boats, computers, household appliances, wire and cans are all sources for recycling.

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