Aluminum. It is a material that we encounter constantly in our daily lives. However, the pure form of aluminum does not exist in nature as has been widely known for the last 200 years. Aluminum is produced using electrolysis. It began in 1886 and is still used today.
Bauxite Mining
The production process begins with the mining of bauxite, a mineral rich in aluminum in the form of aluminum hydroxide. Approximately 90% of the world’s bauxite supply is found in tropical regions.
Aluminum Production
Bauxite is crushed, dried, and placed in special mills where it is mixed with small amounts of water. The process produces a thick paste, which is collected and heated with steam to remove the silicon present inside.
The minerals are placed in special chemical reaction vessels and treated with caustic soda. The aluminum oxide appears as a slurry, while all impurities settle to the bottom in the form of red mud.
The sodium aluminate is mixed in a reactor for several days, eventually producing pure alumina, or Al 2 O 3 . Then, in an aluminum foundry, the alumina is poured and heated to 950 °C. Electric currents of 400 kA or more are induced in the mixture. This current breaks the bond between aluminum and oxygen atoms, and liquid aluminum is produced at the bottom of the precipitation reactor.
Casting
Primary aluminum is cast into molds and shipped to customers or used to produce aluminum alloys for various purposes. This process is used for the majority of aluminum products such as aluminum profiles, mobile phones, airplane fuselages or even spacecraft.
The malleability of aluminum means that it can be easily rolled into a roll. This process produces aluminum sheets and beverage cans, car parts, and many other products.
Recycling
Unlike iron, aluminum is resistant to corrosion. The added benefit is that recycling aluminum requires only 5% of the energy to produce the same amount of primary aluminum.
Source: www.aluminiumleader.com
