An Insight Into The Production And Refinement Of Aluminum

Also known as one of the most widely recycled metals on earth, aluminum is naturally occurring, although in mineral form in bauxite ores. These ores need to be processed and unlike most other metals, it is rather difficult to extract aluminum from bauxite ores because of the amount of energy required for the same. Today bauxite ores are converted to aluminum through the Hall-Heroult process of electrolysis, which results in a 99% pure aluminum metal. Better purification of aluminum can be obtained via the Hoope process which gives a more pure form of aluminum at 99.99%.

The process of electrolysis requires an enormous amount of electricity which is why most aluminum smelters are usually located near power stations. Hence it is not surprising to know that aluminum production takes place in countries where electricity is cheaper. Although there are sufficient reserves of aluminum available here on earth for future generations, it is still easier for companies to recycle existing aluminum and save on electricity costs thereby reducing the cost of the raw material itself. Recycling aluminum barely consumes 5 percent of the energy needed to produce similar virgin aluminum through the process of mining. Recycling aluminum from scrap and old parts not only makes it cheaper to obtain raw aluminum but also reduces the damage done to the environment.  

With both mining and recycling production processes set in place the applications for aluminum usage have vastly increased due to its now reduced price. Reduced prices along with aluminum’s already excellent ductility and malleability have found new applications in multiple industries. These multiple applications found their way in the form of aluminum being mixed with other metals such as copper, manganese and zinc to form alloys of aluminum. Aluminum is today used in everything from electronic devices to cars to airplanes and even rockets.

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