Commercialization of Aluminum

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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9
* H
a I u m inum
Celebrating chemistry
T he American Chemical Society
designated the Commercialization of
the Mall Aluminum Process a
National Historic Chemical handmark
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on
November 2, 2001.
modern era
W h en aluminum was first
introduced to the public at the
Paris Exposition of 1855, a
writer for National Magazine
remarked, "just now, in this
new metal, so long concealed
in every hill~side, and even in
the very dust of our streets,
science seems about to make
over to the arts one of her occa-
sional bestowments, by which
both the knowledge and power
of our race are, at an instant,
so widely increased."
The aluminum revolution
Al umi num, the thi rd most abundant
element i n the earth's crustand its
most plentiful metalis made from
bauxite, areddish-brown rock discov-
ered i n Les Baux, France, i n 1821. I n
1886, chemists finally discovered an
economical way to separate pure
al umi numfrom al umi num oxide
(alumina) and two years later,
commercial al umi num began to revo-
lutionize the worl d.
The path to progress
More than 7,000 years ago, Persians
made their strongest pottery out of
clay containing al umi num oxide. But
because al umi num has ahi gh affinity
for oxygen and never occurs i n its
metallic form i n nature, i t proved dif-
ficult to isolate. I n 1825, the Danish
chemist Hans Christian Oersted final-
ly produced asamplealbeit very
impureusing heat and a potassium-
based mixture. Over the next 20
years, Friedrich Wohler, a German
chemist, improved this process by
using metallic potassium.
The Pari s debut
Henri Sainte-Claire Deville of France
substituted potassiumwi th less expen-
sive sodium i n 1854 and created
enough al umi num for display at the
Paris Exposition of 1855. Billed as
"silver from clay," al umi num bars
were shown alongside France's crown
jewels. A t that time, pure al umi num
was valued at $115 per poundmore
expensive than gold. Napoleon I I I
proudly displayed al umi num cutlery at
his state banquets and even had an
al umi num and gold baby rattle made
for his son.
Young sci enti sts
I n 1886, Charles Marti n Hal l of the
Uni ted States and Paul L.T. Heroul t
of Franceboth age 22independ-
ently discovered the way to produce
al umi num economically. Hal l , under
the i ni ti al direction of his Oberl i n
College professor, Frank Fanning
J ewett, developed amethod for
"reducing" aluminato pure al umi num
by electrolysis. I n the electrolytic cell,
aluminais dissolved i n mol ten cryo-
lite. A strong electric current passes
through the solution and removes the
oxygen, leaving deposits of nearly
pure al umi num, whi ch are siphoned
off and cast i nto pigs. This method is
still used today.
Al umi num often r epl ac es st eel
in st r uct ur es s uc h as t he Empi r e
St at e Bui l di ng.
Si nc e 1972, an est i mat ed 660-pl us
bi l l i on bever age c an s have been
r ec y c l edpl ac ed end-t o-end, t hey
coul d st r et ch to t he moon near l y
300 t i mes.
A N A T I O N A L H I S T O R I C C H E M I C A L L A I N
Commercialization:
aluminum to the forefront
A group of six industrialists led by
Al fred E. Hunt provided the financial-
backing that enabled Hal l to found
the Pittsburgh Reduction Company i n
1888. Before the year was out, Hal l
and his first employee, Arthur Vi ni ng
Davis, had produced the first commer-
cial aluminum.
As Hal l improved his process, the
price of al umi num ingots dropped
from $4.86 per pound i n 1888 to 78
cents i n 1893. Because manufacturers
were reluctant to use an unfamiliar
metal, the company developed proto-
type products such as the first cast
aluminum teakettle.
The first name in aluminum
I n 1907, the company was renamed
the Al umi num Company of America
(Alcoa). Business grew as manufactur-
ers grasped the benefits of this light,
lustrous, non-rusting metal. I n the
mid-1930s, industrial designer Henry
Dreyfuss predicted that "aluminum
wi l l play alarge and significant part"
i n the "greatest period of redesign the
worl d has known." By the late 1930s,
apound of aluminum cost just 20
cents and its uses numbered more
than 2,000.
At the front
Al umi num was at the forefront of the
development of our industrial society
and also played astrategic role i n
Worl d War I I . Demand doubled as the
material spawned anew generation of
aircraft and automobiles. Today, the
Uni ted States is the world's greatest
producer and consumer of alu-
mi nummetal of the modern era.
A multi-use metal
Al umi num as art
I n contact wi th air, aluminum
becomes covered wi th a transparent
layer of al umi num oxide that does not
tarnish or rust. "Eros," the aluminum
statue by Sir Al fred Gilbert erected i n
Piccadilly Circus i n 1893, stands unaf-
fected by the elements. Austrian
architect Otto Wagner was among the
first to use al umi num to accent mod-
ern buildings such as Die Zeit (1903).
The property of conductivity
More than 90 percent of the power
lines i n the Uni ted States are made of
aluminum. I n 1884, a 100-ounce cast
al umi num pyramid was placed atop the
Washington monument as alightning
conductor. Also an excellent conductor
of heat, the metal is used i n automobile
radiators, cooling coils and heat fins.
Metal on the move
Transportation is the largest sector of
the aluminum market, as composites
replace heavier metals i n fuel-efficient
cars and trucks. The Wright
Brothers made the engine block of
their 1903flyer out of aluminum.
Uni on Pacific Railroad launched
the first all-aluminum, high-speed
train i n 1934-
i g
Charles Martin H all:
alum inum 's 'boy wonder'
Structural engineering
Al umi num often replaces steel
i n structures such as the Empire
State Building. Pure aluminum is weak-
er than steel, but al umi num combined
wi th other elements can provide equal
strength while weighing 35 to 80 per-
cent less.
Packaging products
More than 20 percent of the alu-
mi num manufactured goes i nto packag-
ing. About 100bi l l i on aluminum bever-
age cans are produced annually i n the
Uni ted States and half of each can is
made from recycled aluminumthe
most reused packaging material.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
The first all-aluminum beverage can
appeared i n 1963 and the first recycling
effort began i n 1968. I n 2000, the recy-
cling rate for al umi num cans was more
than 60 percent, compared wi th only
15.4 percent i n 1974.
Charles Marti n Hal l woul d have
been proud that the process he
discoveredand its commercializa-
ti onwoul d also create valuable recy-
cled materials.
began exper i ment i ng wi th mi ner -
al s , t ur ni ng a smal l woods hed
behi nd hi s home i nto a makeshi f t
l aborat ory. He fi rst st udi ed c hem-
ry usi ng an 1840s t ext book
rom t he s h el ves of hi s mi n-
i st er f at her ' s st udy. By age
16, he was a f r eshman at
Ober l i n Col l ege. Hi s
chemi st r y pr of essor ,
Fr ank Fanni ng Jewet t ,
s howed st udent s a smal l
hit of al umi num and s ai d
per son who di s c over ed
economi cal way to pr oduce
i i i e met al woul d become r i ch. Hal l
l eapt at t he chal l enge.
Hal l was bor n in Thomps on,
Ohi o in 1863. He gr aduat ed from
col l ege in 1885 and went back t o
hi s woods hed to wor k on t he
pur i fi cat i on of al umi num. On
Febr uar y 23,1886, Hal l pr oduced
hi s fi rst smal l bi t s of al umi num
usi ng mol t en cr yol i t e, al umi num
oxi de and homemade bat t er i es.
Hal l f ounded t he Pi t t sbur gh
Reduct i on Company, and in 1888,
began pr oduct i on of pur e al u-
mi num on a commer ci al s c al e. In
1907, t he company bec ame t he
Al umi num Cor por at i on of Amer i ca
(Al coa). He spent t he next 25
y ear s per f ect i ng hi s pr oc es s and
devel opi ng t he al umi num i ndust ry.
In 1911, Hal l was awar ded t he
Per ki n Medal for hi s ac c ompl i s h-
ment s. He di ed in Dayt ona Beac h ,
Fl or i da in 1914.
Ameri can Chemi cal Society
Atti l a E. Pavlath, President
El i M. Pearce, President-Elect
Ni na I . McCl el l and, Chair, Board of Di rectors
Al coa
Al ai n J. P. Belda, Chai rman of the Board and
Chi ef Executive Officer
Ri chard B. Kelson, Executive Vi ce President
and Chi ef Financial Officer; Chi ef
Compl i ance Officer
Robert E Slagle, Executive Vi ce President
Human Resources and Communi cati ons
Pi ttsburgh Section, Ameri can Chemi cal Society
Bri an R. Strohmeier, Chai r
Mark E. Bier, Chair-Elect
PamelaK. Kerri gan, Secretary
J onna M. Partezana, Treasurer
Hi stori cal Site Commi ttee
J ohn H. Mazza, Chai r
Ri chard S. Danchi k
Warren Haupi n
Raymond A . Kramer
W. Dale Richey
Ameri can Chemi cal Society Commi ttee on
Nati onal Hi stori c Chemi cal Landmarks
Paul S. Anderson, Chai r; DuPont
Pharmaceuticals
James J. Bohni ng, Wi l kes Uni versi ty
Mary El l en Bowden, Chemi cal Heritage
Foundati on
D. H. Mi chael Bowen, Consul tant
J on B. Ekl und, Nati onal Museum of Ameri can
Hi story
Leon Gortl er, Brookl yn College
Ned D. Hei ndel , Lehi gh Uni versi ty
Paul R. J ones, Uni versi ty of New Hampshi re
Peter J. T. Morri s, Science Museum, London
Mary Vi rgi ni a Orna, College of New Rochelle
Stanley I . Proctor, Jr., Proctor Consul ti ng
Services
J ohn B. Sharkey, Pace Uni versi ty
J effrey L. Sturchi o, Merck & Co., I nc.
Edel Wasserman, DuPont
Franki e K. Wood-Bl ack, Phi l l i ps Petrol eum
Ameri can Chemi cal Soci et y
Office of Communi cat i ons
National Hi stori c Chemi cal Landmar ks Program
1155 Si xteenth Street, NW
Washi ngt on, DC 20036
202-872-6274
800-227-5558
www.chemi st ry.org/l andmarks
T he Ameri can Chemical Society designated the production of al umi num by
electrochemistry i n Oberlin, Ohi o, aNati onal Historic Chemical Landmark on
September 17, 1997. The plaque commemorating the event reads:
On February 23, 1886, in his woodshed laboratory at the family home on East
College Street, Charles Martin Hall succeeded in producing aluminum metal
by passing an electric current through a solution of aluminum oxide in
molten cryolite. Aluminum was a semiprecious metal before Hall's discovery
of this economical method to release it from its ore. His invention, which
made this light, lustrous, and nonrusting metal readily available, was the
basis of the aluminum industry in North America.
T he Ameri can Chemical Society designated the commercialization of the Hal l
al umi num process i n Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, aNati onal Historic Chemical
Landmark on November 2, 2001. T he plaque commemorating the event reads:
In 1886 Charles Martin Hall invented an economical electrochemical process
to release aluminum from its ore. Until then, this light, lustrous and
non-rusting metal was rare and costly. A group of Pittsburgh investors,
headed by metallurgist Alfred E. Hunt, agreed to support the commercializa-
tion of Hairs process and founded the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. In
1888 Hall, assisted by Arthur Vining Davis, began to produce aluminum in the
company's pilot plant on Smallman Street. In 1907 the company became the
Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa). Aluminum has since become part of
everyday life with many usesfrom teakettles in the early days, to aircraft,
power lines, building materials, food packaging, and artwork.
About the National Historic Chemi cal Landmarks Program
The Ameri can Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society wi th more
than 163,000 members, has designated landmarks i n the history of chemistry
for more than a decade. T he process begins at the local level. Members identify
milestones i n their cities or regions, document their importance, and nominate
them for landmark designation. A n international committee of chemists, chem-
ical engineers, museum curators, and historians evaluates each nomi nati on. For
more information, please call the Office of Communications at 202-872-6274
or 800-227-5558, e-mail us at nhclp@acs.org, or visit our Web site:
chemistry.org/landmarks.
A non-profit organization, the Ameri can Chemical Society publishes scientific
journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides
educational, science policy and career programs i n chemistry. Its mai n offices
are i n Washington, DC, and Columbus, Ohi o.
Acknowledgements
The Pittsburg Local Section gratefully acknowledges the support of the AlcoaFoundation.
Written by ChristinaCurtain and Elizabeth Naab
Designed by The Rockbridge Group, Bethesda, Maryland