Where do you get aluminum?
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
The aluminum is the third chemical element most abundant in the earth's crust, and constitutes approximately 7% of its mass. It's about a metal whitish and silvery, characterized by being very resistant to corrosion.
It was discovered at the beginning of the 19th century, by the German scientist Friedrich Wohler who was able to isolate it in its pure form, obtaining the isolated element that is very light, and the second best malleable metal that exists.
Chemical properties of aluminum
As mentioned, aluminum belongs to the group of metals, which tend to be soft and have points of fusion relatively low. The state of aluminum (whose chemical symbol is Al) is solid in its natural form, and has as a melting point 933.47 degrees Kelvin (661.32 degrees Celsius) and as a melting point boiling 2792 degrees Kelvin (2519.85 degrees Celsius).
Where is aluminum extracted from?
Aluminum, which is a very important and useful element in human production, is extracted mainly from bauxite which is a type of clay abundant in some countries such as the United States.
This question of the extraction It is important because, despite the fact that aluminum is a very common element in nature, it is never presented free but rather in a combined form. That is why much of the aluminum in the earth (usually that found in rocks) cannot be mined or used for production.
Aluminum processing
Two types of industrial processing are usually distinguished to obtain aluminum:
Uses of aluminum
The importance of obtaining aluminum can be verified in the large number of uses that this element has in the industry:
- It is used to make a large quantity of cans and aluminum foil, common in packaging.
- Coin minting often uses aluminum.
- Aluminum is added to aviation fuel.
- Much of the wiring in cities is made of aluminum.
- The masts of sailing boats are usually made of aluminum.
- Household utensils are almost always made of aluminum.
- The transport they have a large proportion of aluminum, among which are cars, planes, trucks, trains, boats and bicycles.
- The heat absorption capacity makes aluminum used in electronics to prevent overheating.
- Street lights are usually made of this material
- Aluminum is usually involved in water purification.
Sustainable
Much of the importance of aluminum is in being a sustainable material, since maintaining current production levels (or growing at the rate it has been doing), it is estimated that the known bauxite reserves will last for hundreds of years. Furthermore, almost all aluminum products can be repeatedly recycled to produce new ones. products, without thereby losing the metal its quality and its properties.
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