WHAT WE DO / ABOUT
ALUMINIUM
ABOUT ALUMINIUM
In 1808 the British chemist and scientist Sir Humphry Davy identified the
existence of a metal base of alum, which he at first named alumium and later
aluminum. This date can be considered a starting point for the development of
one of the leading industries of today – the aluminium industry.
Thanks to its chemical activity aluminium is hardly ever found in its free form
and despite a common misconception there is no such thing as “aluminium mines”.
Only a few types of aluminium-containing minerals are suitable for industrial
production of the metal. It is chiefly produced from bauxite, more than 90% of
which is concentrated in the tropical and subtropical areas of the Earth –
Australia, Guinea, Jamaica, Suriname, Brazil, and India.
Aluminium is a universal metal. Today, it is second in popularity only to iron
and is important in practically all areas of the global economic activity.
Aluminium is a unique metal. It is light of weight and corrosion-resistant. It
is a nontoxic, nonmagnetic material.
These and other qualities of aluminium are widely used in various industries
which makes it a very commonly encountered material in our daily lives. Pure
aluminium is an superb reflector of visible light (up to 99%) and infrared (up
to 95%). It is, for instance, utilised in the form of a thin layer to make
nearly all modern mirrors, including telescopic.
Combined with copper, zinc, magnesium, silicon and others, aluminium forms
durable alloys crucial for the building and construction industry
(architectural structures, door and window frames, door handles, gutters,
etc.), manufacturing of automobiles, ships, air- and spacecrafts (vehicle
engine components, wheels, suspension, space frame, trim and panels, aerospace
airframes, trim and alloy engine components, ship decks, balconies and
superstructure, train space frame and paneling, etc.), packaging industry
(foil, cans, food containers and medicine packs, etc.). High-voltage
conductors, transmission towers, telecommunication cables, heat exchangers and
freezers, washing machines and ladders are also difficult to imagine without
aluminium.
Trade-mark objects constructed with the use of aluminium are to be found in the
streets of different cities and countries. Eros on Piccadilly in London and the
National Monument in Washington, DC are by far most recognisable. It is Boeing
747 in the international airspace and the Japanese Bullet Train on the
railways. The hull of the Sputnik – the Earth’s first manmade satellite – was
also made of aluminium alloys.
Thus, today, nearly 200 years after the “invention” of aluminium, we can hardly
imagine our lives without this metal. It is present wherever we go or look in
various forms serving various purposes united by a single principle – the high
quality of life.
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