ALUMINUM MANUFACTURING

Aluminum is one of the most widely used

metals in the world. Unalloyed aluminum is a
silver-white color. Redefined from an ore
called bauxite, aluminum is, in its pure form,
incredibly soft and pliable. However, when it is

BASICS OF alloyed, it becomes tough and enduring. This

document provides an overview of how
Aluminum is manufactured.

ALUMINUM AMS Team

Basics of Aluminum Manufacturing

MANUFACTURING
FOR INDUSTRIAL USAGE
Table of Contents
Aluminum Overview ...................................................................................................................... 2
Aluminum Production Process ...................................................................................................... 2
The Bayer Process Steps ............................................................................................................. 3
The Hall Heroult Process ............................................................................................................ 3
Byproducts/Waste ...................................................................................................................... 3
 Alumina ............................................................................................................................ 3
 Red Mud ........................................................................................................................... 4
Processed Aluminum Production Process ..................................................................................... 4
Rolling ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Hot Rolling/Band Process ....................................................................................................... 4
Cold Coil Process ..................................................................................................................... 5
Other Production Processes ....................................................................................................... 6
Finishing Process ......................................................................................................................... 6
Alloys ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Aluminum Recycling Process ......................................................................................................... 7
Aluminum Overview
Aluminum does not occur naturally in its purest form, so it was not discovered until the 19th century with
developments in chemistry and the advent of electricity. Aluminum has gone on an incredibly interesting
journey from a precious metal to the material used virtually in every sphere of human life in just one and
a half centuries.

Increased aluminum production volumes globally and demand for the metal resulted in aluminum
becoming an exchange commodity in the 1970s. In 1978, the exchange trade for aluminum contracts
started on the London Metal Exchange ("LME"), the oldest exchange in the world, established in 1877.
Since then the price for primary aluminum became uniform all over the world and was formed during
exchange trade on the LME.

Further industry development is intimately connected with the growth of consumption as a result of
further urbanization and industrialization globally. Aluminum will be more actively replacing heavier steel
in the automotive industry and a more expensive copper in electrical engineering. According to forecasts,
the demand for aluminum will exceed 80 million tons by 2023.

Aluminum Production Process

Production of raw Aluminum (Ingots)
Aluminum manufacturing is accomplished in two phases:

1. The Bayer process of refining the bauxite ore to obtain aluminum oxide, and
2. The Hall-Heroult process of smelting the aluminum oxide to release pure aluminum.
The Bayer Process Steps
1. First, the bauxite ore is mechanically crushed. Then, the crushed ore is mixed with caustic soda
and processed in a grinding mill to produce a slurry containing very fine particles of ore.
2. The slurry is pumped into a digester, a tank that functions as a pressure cooker. The slurry is then
heated at 230-520°F under a pressure of 50lb/in to ensure all aluminum containing compounds
are dissolved.
3. Hot slurry, which is now sodium aluminate solution, passes through series of flash tanks that
reduces pressure and recover heat.
4. The slurry is then pumped into settling tank. As the slurry rests into the tank, impurities that will
not dissolve settle to the bottom of the vessel. Aluminum in the settling tank remains dissolved
in the caustic soda. The residue (called “red mud”) that accumulates in the bottom of the tank
consists of fine sand, iron oxide and oxides of trace elements like titanium.
5. After the impurities have settled, the remaining liquid is pumped through series of filters. Any fine
particles of impurities that remain in the solution are trapped by the filters. The material is washed
to recover alumina and caustic soda that can be reused.
6. The filtered liquid is pumped through a series of six-story-tall precipitation tanks. Seed crystals of
alumina hydrate (alumina bonded to water molecules) are added through the top of each tank.
The seed crystals grow as they settle through the liquid and dissolved alumina attaches to them.
7. The crystals precipitate settled at the bottom of tank and are removed. Crystals are then moved
to kiln for calcining (to release water molecules). A temperature of 2,000° F drives off the water
molecules, leaving waterless aluminum crystals. After leaving the kiln, the crystals pass through
the cooler.

The Hall Heroult Process

Smelting of alumina crystals to produce metallic aluminum takes place in a steel vat called a reduction
pot. Bottom of the pot is lined with carbon, which acts as one electrode (conductor of electric current)
of the system. A typical smelting plant consists of two or three pot lines.

8. Within the reduction pot, alumina crystals are dissolved in molten cryolite at a temperature of
1,760-1,780° F to form an electrolyte solution that will conduct electricity from the carbon rods
to the carbon-lined bed of the pot. A direct current of 4-6 volts is passed through the solution.
Oxygen is released and is attracted to the carbon rods to form Carbon dioxide. The freed
aluminum atoms settle to the bottom of the pot as molten metal. These smelting pots are
operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Thus, it is a continuous process.
9. A crucible is moved down the potline, collecting 9000 lb. of molten aluminum, which is 99.8%
pure. The metal is transferred to the holding furnace and then cast (poured into molds) as ingots.
As the metal moves through the mold, the exterior is cooled with water, causing the aluminum to
solidify. The solid shaft emerges from the far end of the mold, where it is sawed at appropriate
intervals to form ingots of the desired length. Casting process is also continuous.

Byproducts/Waste
 Alumina Outcome of Bayer process which act as a raw material for Hall-Heroult process, is also a
useful final product. It is a white, powdery substance can be used in a wide range of products such
as laundry detergents, toothpaste, and fluorescent light bulbs. Its chemical properties make it
 effective in many other applications, including catalytic converters and explosives. It is even used
in rocket fuel—400,000 lb. (180,000 kg) is consumed in every space shuttle launch.
 Red Mud It contains some useful substances, like iron, titanium, soda, and alumina, but no one
has been able to develop an economical process for recovering them. Other than a small amount
of red mud that is used commercially for coloring masonry, this is truly a waste product. Most
refineries simply collect the red mud in an open pond that allows some of its moisture to
evaporate; when the mud has dried to a solid enough consistency, which may take several years,
it is covered with dirt or mixed with soil.

Processed Aluminum Production Process

Companies employ variety of methods to process aluminum, such as: Roll Forming (Hot and Cold Rolling),
Stamp Pressing, extrusion, forging. After its initial formation, aluminum suppliers may also treat aluminum
with secondary or finishing processes, such as machining, drilling, cutting, painting or anodizing.

Rolling is a common method of aluminum processing, which, as it proceeds, makes aluminum more
ductile and less brittle. This method is used to make both very thin products, such as aluminum sheets,
aluminum plates, aluminum coils, aluminum strips, and hollow products, such as aluminum pipes and
aluminum tubing.

Hot Rolling/Band Process

1. Scalping: Given the uses of its finished products, the surface quality of aluminum is of the
utmost importance. High surface quality is obtained by scalping the slabs on each side.
This process removes oxides and chill from the surface, as well as inverse segregation that
occurs during casting. The scalper must be a large milling machine, and tungsten carbide
knives are installed on the rotating head.
2. Homogenization: In the process following things are taken care.
a. Alleviation of internal stress of ingots
b. Change of the microstructure of ingots to make them more suitable for the
subsequent processes
c. Softening of the alloy for greater rollability
d. Homogenization takes place in a pusher furnace or soaking pit.
e. In the pusher furnace, ingots are heated up to 600°C.
3. Rolling: Metals cannot adequately resist deformation at high temperatures, which means
that they can change greatly in form. Hot rolling takes advantage of this property by
rolling metals at temperatures above their recrystallization temperatures. Aluminum’s
recrystallization temperature is about 250 °C. Water-soluble rolling oils are often used to
prevent the overheating of the rolls during the process. Three-high rolling mills are used
 for hot rolling. Today, large hot rolling mills can produce 100,000 metric tons to hundreds
of thousands of metric tons of product a year.

Cold Coil Process

Cold Rolling: is a process by which the sheet metal or strip stock is introduced between rollers
and then compressed and squeezed. The amount of strain introduced determines the hardness
and other material properties of the finished product. The purpose of cold rolling is as below:
 Increased strength and hardness by strain hardening
 Finer grain structure
 Precise thickness control
 Improved flatness
 Better surface quality

Cold rolled sheet can be produced in various conditions such as skin-rolled, quarter hard, half
hard, full hard depending on how much cold work has been performed.

 In skin rolling, the metal is reduced by 0.5 to 1% and results in a surface that is smooth and
the yield point phenomenon--excessive stretching and wrinkling in subsequent operations, is
eliminated.
 Quarter Hard, Half Hard, Full Hard stock have higher amounts of reduction, upto 50%. This
increases the yield point; grain orientation and material properties assume different
properties along the grain orientation.
 Quarter Hard material can be bent (perpendicular to the direction of rolling) on itself without
fracturing. Half hard material can be bent 90º; full hard can be bent 45º. Thus, these materials
can be used for in applications involving great amounts of bending and deformation, without
fracturing.

Annealing is the process of relieving the internal stresses in the steel that was built up during the
cold rolling process. In this process, the cold rolled steel is heated above its recrystallisation
temperature by soaking the steel at that temperature and then cooling it. Annealing is done in a
controlled gas atmosphere consisting of nitrogen and hydrogen gases in various compositions.
This is done to prevent surface rusting resulting from oxidation. There are two types of annealing:

1. Batch Annealing: The interior cover of the base unit is filled with protective gases to
prevent oxidation of the steel surface. The heating hood is positioned, and the cold rolled
steel coils are placed one above the other. The interior cover is placed on top of the steel.
The heat from the burner is circulated to the surface of the steel. The steel coils remain
 soaked in this temperature. Then the cooled hood is placed to cool the steel to room
temperature.
2. Continuous Annealing: In this process, a decoiler and two loopers are involved. The steel
coil is placed at the decoiler. The movement is maintained during heat treatment. Two
sets of rolls are present in the looper. The entry looper moves to and fro to feed the steel
coil into the heat-treating section. The exit looper receives the steel coil and thus the
continuous movement is maintained during heat treatment. After soaking, the steel roll
is allowed to cool down at room temperature. Continuous annealing gives a smooth
finish, uniform surface, and shape to the steel. This process requires less processing time
and is preferred for high productivity.

Other Production Processes

 Stamp Pressing is also a popular choice; it creates flat aluminum sheets and plates, along with
some shapes, by pressing material into die cavities, using massive amounts of pressure.
 Aluminum extrusion is an aluminum forming process during which manufacturers make shapes
by heating billets and forcing them through a pre-shaped metal die. They may hot form or cold
form the aluminum, depending on its properties.
 Hot extrusion is popular with manufacturers for fabricating products like rods and bars. To hot
extrude, or hot form, aluminum products, manufacturers heat the metal above its
recrystallization temperature, to the point of plasticity. For aluminum, this temperature is
between 650 ℉ and 900 ℉.
 Cold extrusion, on the other hand, is performed at or just above room temperature.
Manufacturers use cold extrusion to create stronger extrusions with closer tolerances and better
surface finishes. Cold extruded aluminum parts do not have to undergo oxidation. Common cold
extruded aluminum products include gear blanks, shock absorber cylinders, fire extinguisher
cases, and collapsible tubes.
 Forging is a simple process that involves pounding, squeezing, or hammering aluminum into a
desired part.

Finishing Process

 Coils are slit into the widths needed by customers by rotating round knives. Trimmers are also
used for width cuts.
 Slitter lines have online thickness measurement, surface inspector, oiler for customer needs
functionally.
  Tension levelers perform to correct flatness off generated from rolling process for various product
usages. This process line also takes the cleaning of rolling oil remains from cold mill in order to
meet customer`s required surface quality and prevent oil stain.
 Packaging of the finished products is an extremely delicate and important process. Packing should
also remain air-tight and waterproof in order to protect products from oxidization and moisture.
Automatic coil packing machines can meet a range of customer demands for how products should
be packaged and ensure consistent packaging quality expected for safe storage and effective use.

Alloys
Manufacturers may alloy aluminum with several different elements, such as silicon, magnesium, copper,
iron, and zinc. The element with which manufacturers join aluminum depends on what properties and for
what applications they wish to create an aluminum alloy product.
6061 Aluminum is one of the most commonly produced aluminum alloys. Containing silicon and
magnesium, this metal is a heat treatable, weldable metal that can be annealed or cold worked. Based on
these qualities, aluminum suppliers frequently sell 6061 Aluminum to fabricators of vehicle parts, such as
truck and marine components and pipelines.
7075 Aluminum exists on the other end of the spectrum. Alloyed with zinc, is exceptionally strong. It is
about as strong as most steel alloys. It also has a higher shear strength and tensile strength than stainless
steel, though stainless steel has it beat in fatigue strength. This corrosion resistant alloy has such a good
fatigue strength, in fact, that it is not weldable. This alloy is much less common than 6061, and as such, it
is more expensive to obtain. It is mostly used in the construction of products where safety is key, such as
the construction of bicycles, aircrafts, and lacrosse and rock-climbing equipment.
1100 Aluminum is among the purest of aluminum alloys. It is between 99.0% and 99.95% pure aluminum.
It is alloyed with small amounts of copper, iron, manganese, silicon and zinc. Because of its high aluminum
content, it is very soft, pliable, and formable. With its low strength, it can only be strengthened by cold
working; heat treatment is not an option. Manufacturers use this relatively delicate aluminum alloy to
make railroad tank cars and chemical equipment.

Aluminum Recycling Process

Aluminum recycling is the process by which scrap aluminum can be reused in products after its initial
production. The process involves simply re-melting the metal, which is far less expensive and energy-
intensive than creating new aluminum through the electrolysis of aluminum oxide, which must first be
mined from bauxite ore and then refined using the Bayer process.

Recycling scrap aluminum requires only 5% of the energy used to make new aluminum from the raw
ore. Used beverage containers (UBC) are the largest component of processed aluminum scrap, and most
of it is manufactured back into aluminum cans.
1. Scrap aluminum is first cut into small, equally sized pieces to lessen the volume and make it easier
for the machines that separate them.
2. Pieces are cleaned chemically/mechanically and blocked to minimize oxidation losses when melted.
3. Blocks are loaded into furnace and heated to 750 °C ± 100 °C to produce molten aluminum.
4. Dross (mass impurities) are removed and dissolved hydrogen is degassed. This is typically done
with chlorine and nitrogen gas.
5. Depending on the final product desired, high-purity aluminum, copper, zinc, manganese, silicon
and/or magnesium is added to alter the molten composition to the proper alloy specification.
6. Depending on final product molten metal is cast into ingot, billets or rods.
Dross: A residue from primary aluminum production and secondary recycling operations, usually classified
as waste, still contains useful quantities of aluminum which can be extracted industrially. This waste is
difficult to manage. When it reacts with water, it releases a mixture of gases like hydrogen, acetylene and
ammonia which spontaneously ignite with air. Despite these difficulties the waste is use as a filler in
asphalt and concrete.