What is Aluminum and Where to use it?
Aluminum ranks first among the most used metals in the world. Known for nearly 200 years, aluminum contains 8 percent of the earth’s crust. Aluminum is a very useful element, which is the raw material of hundreds of products. So aluminum, which is the third most used metal, is among the metals indispensable for the industry with dozens of compounds and alloys.
Aluminum, which has tons of reserves in many regions of the world, is used in a wide range of fields, from space technology to the packaging industry, with its chemical and physical properties. Let’s continue to get acquainted with the aluminum found in almost every area of our lives.
Since aluminum minerals do not turn into metal when heated, aluminum has not been easy to discover. Pure aluminum was first obtained in 1825 by Danish chemist and physicist Prof. Dr. Hans Christian Orsted. Orsted is the first scientist to obtain aluminum metal under reduced pressure by heating the aluminum amalgam from aluminum chloride (ALCL3) and potassium (K) amalgam.
As Bor Aluminum we are a manufacturer of aluminum profiles. And we want to explain aluminum history to you.
Historical Development of Aluminum
- In 1855, the French emperor, Napoleon III, was impressed by the aluminum he saw at the industrial exhibition and had a cutlery set made of aluminum. And it was used in dinner meetings served to state guests.
- In 1887, the chemical compound produced by Austrian engineer Karl Josef Bayer from aluminum ore bauxite started to be used in aluminum production all over the world.
- In 1889, economic techniques began to be developed to produce aluminum.
- The Anteros statue, erected in Picadilly Square in England in 1893, is the first aluminum statue.
- In the early 1900s, American industrialists realized the superior properties of aluminum and started to be used in aluminum, energy transmission, and train lines.
- It was used in 1903 by the Wright brothers in engines.
- The first aluminum foil was produced in 1910.
- In 1911, aluminum was further developed in industrial areas.
- In 1935, the first Aluminum Association was established in New York, USA.
- It became an important strategic metal in the Second World War and was used in many war products such as aircraft bodies, ships, radars.
- It was started to be used in white goods in the early 1950s.
- In 1959, Coors Brewing developed aluminum beverage cans and became an indispensable packaging of beverages after this date.
- The astronaut suit and the spacecraft body used in Neil Armstrong’s Apollo Space Program in 1969 are made of aluminum alloy materials. After this date, aluminum has become an important metal in space and aviation.
- In the 1970s, Apple’s founder Steve Jobs discovered and started using the light and aesthetic features of aluminum in computer and electronic products.
100% recyclable aluminum continues to be used in many sectors including packaging and packaging, automotive, energy, coating, construction, defense, transportation, nanotechnology, and space sectors since the 1980s.
Bauxite and Aluminum Minerals
Aluminum is not found in nature freely or elementally. Bauxite is the most important substance containing commercial aluminum. Almost all of the world’s aluminum production is provided from bauxite ore. Rich bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is obtained, contains 30-50 percent aluminum. To obtain metallic aluminum, bauxite ore must contain approximately 45 percent aluminum oxide.
Bauxite is a residual soil formed by the erosion of rocks by external influences. Some of the components in this soil have been eroded by the effect of surface waters, forming the remaining aluminum and iron oxide bauxite material. Bauxite ores are found on the surface of the earth’s crust or in layers close to the surface. Volcanic rocks also contain 50-60 percent alumina silicate.
What are the Usage Areas of Aluminum?
Aluminium metal, compounds, and alloys have many uses. There is a wide range of uses, from windows to kitchens, from planes to car exhausts, from balustrades to ornaments. Combining flexibility, softness, and durability in their properties, it has become an indispensable metal.
Aluminium obtained from bauxite ore and recycling applications is used in the industry. Aluminum Scraps can be recycled one hundred percent. Very thin sheets and wires can be produced from aluminum. Aluminum foil can be produced 3 times thinner than human hair. It is a much lower cost than similar metals. Since it is produced by electrolysis, 20-40 percent of its cost is electricity. It is the most used metal after iron.
We can list some of the most used products and areas as follows:
Wheels | motor bodies | Chasis | Mobile Phones | Tablets |
Computers | electronic products (such as TV, music products), | White goods | food packaging products | Shelves |
Cables | Sails | Ships | Windows | interior and exterior building coverings |
Mirrors | Electricity Poles | Rockets | Missiles | Home Accessories |
As you can see aluminum can be used in all areas of our lives. So if you are looking for an aluminum billet manufacturer, aluminium window sills manufacturer, aluminium profile accessories manufacturer please contact BOR USA aluminum which is the best aluminum manufacturer.
Bor Aluminum – Content Producer