Aluminium

Group Members :
Nathaniel Dakin
Travis Johnson
Damion Drackett
Romarey Brown
 Introduction
• Aluminum is a silvery-white metal, the 13 element in the periodic
table. One surprising fact about aluminum is that it's the most
widespread metal on Earth, making up more than 8% of the Earth's
core mass. It's also the third most common chemical element on our
planet after oxygen and silicon.. The versatility of aluminum makes
it the most widely used metal after steel.

• Aluminum is soft, lightweight, fire-proof and heat-resistant, easy to

work into new shapes, and able to conduct electricity. It reflects
light and heat very effectively and it doesn't rust. It reacts easily
with other chemical elements, especially oxygen, and readily forms
an outer layer of aluminum oxide if you leave it in the air.

• Aluminum has a density around one third that of steel and is used
advantageously in applications where high strength and low weight
are required. This includes vehicles where low mass results in
greater load capacity and reduced fuel consumption.
 Introduction
• Aluminum easily binds with other elements. Therefore,
pure aluminum does not occur in nature. This is the reason
that people learned about it relatively recently. Formally
aluminum was produced for the first time in 1824 and it
took people another fifty years to learn to produce it on an
industrial scale.

• The most common form of aluminum found in nature is

aluminum sulphates. These are minerals that combine two
sulphuric acids: one based on an alkaline metal (lithium,
sodium, potassium rubidium or cesium) and one based on a
metal from the third group of the periodic table, primarily
aluminum.
 Properties of Aluminium
• It can be easily shaped, rolled, drawn, extruded,
welded and therefore it is the ideal metal for
construction. Its module of elasticity (a quantity
that measures an object or substance's resistance
to being deformed elastically) is 70.000MPa
which is 3 times lower than of iron. Under load
conditions, an aluminum structure has 3 times
greater elastic elongation than an iron one.
• Aluminum is resistant to corrosion due to the
phenomenon of passivation. A thin surface layer
of aluminum oxide is formed when the metal is
exposed to air. This oxide layer protects the
aluminum beneath the surface from further
oxidation. Like many other metals, aluminum can
also be oxidized by water to produce hydrogen
and heat
• It cannot be magnetized or burnt, properties
which are considered quite essential for special
applications, such as in Electronics and marine
constructions (oil platforms).
• Very low specific weight. About 1/3 of iron
 Properties of Aluminium
Electrical and Thermal Conductivity
• Aluminum is an excellent conductor of both heat and
electricity. The great advantage of aluminum is that by
weight, the conductivity of aluminum is around twice that
of copper. This means that aluminum is now the most
commonly used material in large power transmission lines.

• The best alternatives to copper are aluminum alloys in the

1000 or 6000 series(1000 series are nearly pure aluminium
with a minimum 99% aluminium content by weight and
can be work hardened and 6000 series are alloyed with
magnesium and silicon). They are easy to machine,
are weldable, and can be precipitation hardened, but not to
the high strengths that 2000 and 7000 can reach. These can
be used for all electrical conduction applications including
domestic wiring.

• Weight considerations mean that a large proportion of

overhead, high voltage power lines now use aluminum
rather than copper. They do however, have a low strength
and need to be reinforced with a galvanized or aluminum
coated high tensile steel wire in each strand.
Properties of Aluminium
Toxicity
• It is non-toxic when it comes in contact with
food (reasonable toxicity range), while as a
protective film it demonstrates very low
permeability, properties that have made it the
raw material for food packaging and, in
particular, for flexible multi-layered packages
(e.g. polyester, aluminum, polyethylene).

• Aluminum is not only non-toxic but also does

not release any odors or taint products with
which it is in contact. This makes aluminum
suitable for use in packaging for sensitive
products such as food or pharmaceuticals
where aluminum foil is used.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Bauxite Mining
• The aluminum production process can be broken down into three stages; first
bauxites, which contain aluminum, are extracted from the ground. Second, bauxites
are processed into alumina or aluminum oxide, and finally in stage three, pure
aluminum is produced using electrolytic reduction, a process in which aluminum
oxide is broken down into its components using electric current. About 4-5 tones of
bauxites get processed into 2 tones of alumina from which about 1 tone of
aluminum can be made.
• There are several minerals available in the world from which aluminum can be
obtained, but the most common raw material is bauxite. Bauxite is a mineral made
up primarily of aluminum oxide mixed with some other minerals. Bauxite is
regarded as high quality if it contains more than 50% of aluminum oxide.
• There is a lot of variation in bauxites. Structurally they can be solid and dense or
crumbly. The usual color is brick red, flaming red or brown because of iron oxide.
If iron content is low, bauxite can be grey or white. But yellow, dark green and
even multi-colored bauxites with bluish, purple, red and black strains occur too.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Bauxite Mining
• About 90% of global bauxite supplies are found in tropical
and subtropical areas, with 73% found in just five countries:
Guinea, Brazil, Jamaica, Australia and India. Guinea has the
largest supply of bauxites, 5.3 billion tones (28.4% of the
global supply) and the Guinean bauxites are very high quality,
containing minimal amounts of admixtures. They're also
found very near to the surface, which makes mining them very
easy.
• The most common way to mine for bauxites is by using open
pit mines. Special equipment is used to cut one layer after
another off the surface, with the rock then being transported
elsewhere for further processing. However, there are places
where aluminum ore has to be mined from deep underground
which require underground mines to be built to get at it. One
of the deepest mines is the Cheremkhovskaya-Deep mine in
the Urals in Russia, its shafts run 1550 metres deep.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Alumina Production
• The next stage in the production chain is the processing of bauxite into alumina,
or aluminum oxide - Al2O3, - a white powder. The most common process for
making alumina from bauxite is the Bayer process, which was first discovered
over 100 years ago but is still in wide use today. About 90% of alumina refineries
in the world use the Bayer process. It's very efficient but it can only be used on
high quality bauxite with fairly low content of admixtures, especially silicon.
• The principle of the Bayer process is as follows: the crystallized aluminum
hydrate found in bauxite easily dissolves in concentrated caustic soda (NaOH) at
high temperatures and when the temperature is lowered and the concentration of
the solution increases again, aluminum hydrate crystallizes but the other elements
contained in the bauxite (the so called ballast) either don't dissolve or recrystallize
and settle to the bottom well before aluminum hydrate crystallizes. This means
that after aluminum hydrate gets dissolved in caustic soda the ballast can be
easily isolated and removed. This ballast is known as red mud.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Alumina Production
• Large aluminum hydrate particles can be filtered out
from the solution with relative ease. They're then
washed with water, dried and calcined: i.e. heated up to
remove water. The output of this process is alumina.

• Alumina has unlimited shelf life but it has to be stored

under the right conditions as it will absorb moisture at
the first opportunity, so alumina producers prefer to
ship it off to smelters as soon as possible. First alumina
is stacked into piles weighing up to 30,000 tones. In
the end a kind of layered pie 10-12 meters high is built
in this manner. The pile is then cut and loaded into
railroad cars, 60-75 tones per car (depending on the
type of car) for dispatch to smelters.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Purifiying the Aluminium Oxide - The Bayer Process

Reaction with sodium hydroxide solution

• Crushed bauxite is treated with moderately concentrated
sodium hydroxide solution. The concentration, temperature
and pressure used depend on the source of the bauxite and
exactly what form of aluminum oxide it contains.
Temperatures are typically from 140°C to 240°C; pressures
can be up to about 35 atmospheres.
• High pressures are necessary to keep the water in the sodium
hydroxide solution liquid at temperatures above 100°C. The
higher the temperature, the higher the pressure needed.
• With hot concentrated sodium hydroxide solution, aluminum
oxide reacts to give a solution of sodium
tetrahydroxoaluminate.

Al 2O 3 + 2NaOH + 3H 2O NaAl(OH) 4
 Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Purifiying the Aluminium Oxide - The Bayer Process

Precipitation of aluminium hydroxide

The sodium tetrahydroxoaluminate solution is cooled, and "seeded" with some previously produced
aluminum hydroxide. This provides something for the new aluminum hydroxide to precipitate around.
NaAl(OH)4 Al(OH)3 + NaOH

Formation of pure aluminium oxide

Aluminum oxide (sometimes known as alumina) is made by heating the aluminum hydroxide to a
temperature of about 1100 - 1200°C.
2Al(OH)3 Al2O3 + 3H2O
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Cryolite
• Alumina is the direct source of aluminum in the
aluminum production process, but in order to create the
right environment for electrolysis another component
is necessary, and that component is cryolite(Na3AlF6).
It's a rare natural fluoride mineral which due to its
scarcity in natural form has been manufactured
artificially. In modern metal production, cryolite is
made by mixing hydrofluoric acid with aluminum
hydroxide and soda.
• The use of molten cryolite as a solvent reduces some of
the energy costs involved in extracting aluminum by
allowing the ions in aluminum oxide to move freely at
a lower temperature.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Aluminum Production- Electrolytic Reduction
• The bauxite has been mined, the alumina made from it
and the cryolite stockpiled , and now everything is
ready for the last stage: electrolytic reduction to make
aluminum.
• The reduction area consists of several rectangular
buildings whose length sometimes exceeds 1
kilometer. Inside there are hundreds of reduction cells
or pots arranged in rows and hooked up to power
sources via massive cables. The constant voltage at the
electrodes of each reduction cell varies in the range of
between 4 and 6 volts, while the amperage can reach
300, 400 KA and more. It's the electric current that is
the main production force in this process. There are
only a handful of people in a typical reduction area as
all the key processes are automated.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Aluminum Production- Electrolytic Reduction
• In each reduction cell, aluminum is produced from
alumina via the electrolytic reduction process. The entire
cell is filled up with molten cryolite that creates a
conductive environment at a temperature of 950 oC
• . The bottom of the cell works as the cathode while the
role of the cathode is played by special cryolite-carbon
blocks 1.5 meters in length and 0.5 meters in width that
are lowered into the cell. These blocks look like massive
hammers.
• Every thirty minutes an automatic alumina feeding
system dumps a new portion of alumina into the cell.
The electric current flowing through the cell breaks
down the bond between aluminum and oxygen, causing
aluminum to settle to the bottom of the cell and form a
layer 10-15 cm deep while the oxygen binds with the
carbon in the anode blocks to form carbon dioxide.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Aluminum Production- Electrolytic Reduction
Conversion of the aluminum oxide into aluminum by electrolysis
The aluminum oxide is electrolyzed in solution in molten cryolite,
Na3AlF6. Cryolite is another aluminum ore, but is rare and expensive,
and most is now made chemically.

The electrolysis cell

The ions in the aluminum oxide must be free to move so that electricity
can pass through it. Aluminum oxide has a very high melting point
(over 2000°C) so it would be expensive to melt it. Aluminum oxide
does not dissolve in water, but it does dissolve in molten cryolite. This
is an aluminum compound with a lower melting point than aluminum
oxide. The use of cryolite reduces some of the energy costs involved in
extracting aluminum.
Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Aluminum Production- Electrolytic Reduction Cont’d
The diagram shows an aluminum oxide electrolysis cell. The negative electrodes (cathodes) and
the positive electrodes (anodes) are made of graphite, a form of carbon.
 Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Aluminum Production- Electrolytic Reduction Cont’d
During electrolysis:
• positively charged aluminum ions gain electrons from the cathode, and form molten aluminum
• oxide ions lose electrons at the anode, and form oxygen molecules
Electrolysis of the alumina/cryolite solution gives aluminium at the cathode and oxygen at the anode.

Al 3+ + 3e – Al (l) (aluminium metal at the (-)cathode)

2O 2 – O 2 + 4e – (oxygen gas at the (+)anode)

Aluminium is more dense than the alumina/cryolite solution, and so falls to the bottom of the cell where it can be tapped off
as pure liquid metal.

The overall reaction is

aluminium oxide aluminium + oxygen

4Al 3 + + 60 2 – 4Al(l) + 3O 2(g)
 Extraction and Production of Aluminium
Aluminum Production- Electrolytic Reduction Cont’d
Oxygen is discharged at the positive carbon (graphite) anode. Oxygen reacts with the carbon anode to form carbon dioxide
gas. Therefore it is preferred to use titanium anode(as it does not react with the oxygen).

carbon + oxygen carbon dioxide

C(s) + O2(g) CO2(g)
Uses of Aluminium
Architectural
• The application of Aluminum in construction and architecture slowed in the 1940s, as the
metal was predominantly used for producing planes. It even earned a second name, "winged
metal." But as early as the middle of the twentieth century, Aluminum became more and more
popular in the construction of high-rise buildings and bridges. Window frames, panels, domed
roofs and other wide-span constructions and ornaments were increasingly made with
Aluminum. Today, it is used for roofs, siding, translucent panes, window and doorframes,
staircases, air conditioning systems, solar protection, heating systems, furniture and many
other things.

• The minimum design service life of Aluminum structures is 80 years. Within this timespan,
Aluminum can be used in any climatic conditions and does not lose its properties in
temperatures ranging between –80 °C and +300 °C. Aluminum structures can be slightly prone
to damage in fires, but the metal becomes even stronger at low temperatures.

• For example, heat-insulated Aluminum siding with reflective foil covering protects premises
from cold temperatures four times better than 10 cm thick brick facing or 20 cm thick stone
masonry. That is why it is widely used in construction in cold areas, like the Northern Urals,
Siberia and Yakutia in Russia.
Uses of Aluminium
Architectural Cont’d
• No less important, or perhaps an even more important quality of
Aluminum is its lightness. Thanks to its low specific weight,
Aluminum plate constitutes half the weight of steel with the
same stiffness. So, the weight of Aluminum structures is one
half to two-thirds the weight of steel structures and up to one-
seventh the weight of reinforced concrete structures with the
same bearing capacity.

• That is why Aluminum is today is used in high-rise buildings

and skyscrapers: just imagine how much they would weigh if
steel were used, how deep the foundation would have to be and
how much more expensive the whole building would be. The
light weight of Aluminum drawbridges makes their mechanical
components lighter, minimizes counterbalances and in general
gives more space for the architect to realize his or her creative
vision. In addition, it is simpler, faster and more convenient to
work with lightweight structures.
Uses of Aluminium
Transport - Aerospace and Aviation
• Aluminum will always be thought of as the metal that allowed people to fly. Light,
strong and flexible, it proved an ideal material for building heavier-than-air aircraft.
There's a reason that in some circles aluminum is known as the 'winged metal'.
• Aluminum makes up 75-80% of a modern aircraft and it was actually first used in
aviation before aeroplanes were invented. The breakthrough that laid the foundation for
modern aviation occurred in 1903 when the Wright brothers flew their Flyer-1, the first
heavier-than-air steerable aircraft. Automobile engines back then weighed too much
and didn't deliver enough power to let an aircraft take to the air. So, a special engine
was built for the Flier-1 aircraft that incorporated parts, such as the cylinder block, that
had been cast from aluminum.
• Today aircraft designers are looking for new materials that offer all the benefits of
aluminum but are even lighter. The only candidate they have is carbon fiber. It consists
of threads between 5 and 15 um in diameter comprising mostly carbon atoms. The first
airliner with a fuselage made completely of composite materials was the Boeing 787
Dreamliner, which made its maiden commercial flight in 2011.
• However, aeroplanes made from composite materials cost a lot more to produce than
planes made from aluminum. In addition, carbon composite materials often don't
deliver the required level of safety.
Uses of Aluminium
Transport - Aerospace and Aviation Cont’d
• Aluminum has proved indispensable not just in aviation but
also in the aerospace industry where its combination of low
weight and maximum strength is even more critical. The
body of the first human-built satellite launched in the
USSR in 1957 was made from an aluminum alloy.

• All modern spacecraft contain between 50% and 90% of

aluminum alloys in their parts. Aluminum alloys are used
in the body of Space Shuttle vehicles, they're found in the
telescopic antenna of the Hubble space telescope; hydrogen
tanks used in rockets are made from aluminum alloys, the
tips of rockets use aluminum alloys, parts of launch
vehicles and orbital stations, as well as the fastening units
for solar panels – all these elements are made from
aluminum alloys.
Uses of Aluminium
Transport -Automotive Industry
• The car is the most common type of transport in the world. The main
building material used in cars is the relatively cheap steel. However, as the
automotive industry begins to pay more and more attention to fuel
efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and design, aluminum is playing an
ever more important role in modern cars.
• Every kilogram of aluminum used in a car reduces the overall weight of the
vehicle by one kilogram. For this reason more and more car parts are being
made from aluminum: engine radiators, wheels, bumpers, suspension parts,
engine cylinder blocks, transmission bodies and body parts: the hoods, the
doors and even the frame. As a result since the 1970s the share of
aluminum in the overall weight of an average car has been constantly on
the increase: from 35 kg in the 1970s to today's 152 kg. Experts project that
by 2025 average aluminum content in a car will reach 250 kg.
• Aluminum was first used in car bodies in the premium segment. Thus, the
first mass produced car with a full aluminum body was the Audi A8, which
made its debut in 1994. Other luxury brands soon followed suit: BMW,
Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar.
Uses of Aluminium
Transport -Automotive Industry Cont’d
• Aluminum has another very useful property: it's very good at
absorbing shock: in fact it's twice as effective at it as steel. For
this reason, automakers have long been using aluminum in
bumpers. The bottom of the revolutionary Tesla electric car is
covered by 8-mm bullet proof aluminum alloy sheets that protect
the battery compartment and guarantee safety at speeds of up to
200 kmph. Recently the company started installing new
aluminum-titanium armor plates on its vehicles that allow them
to literally crush concrete and forged steel obstacles that get in
the way while allowing the driver to remain in total control of the
vehicle.

• Another reason why an aluminum body is superior to a steel one

in terms of safety is because when aluminum parts get bent or
deformed, the deformation remains localized to the areas of
impact while the rest of the body retains the original shape,
ensuring safety for the passenger compartment.
Uses of Aluminium
Transport –Rail Transport
• The use of aluminum in rail transport began almost immediately
after the emergence of mass production of aluminum. In 1894
New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, a company that
was then owned by banker John Pierpont Morgan, began
producing special super light passenger cars with aluminum
seats.

• Aluminum makes it possible to reduce the weight of such trains,

which reduces the bends in the rails that add to the friction
resistance. In addition, a high speed train, like a plane, has to
have an aerodynamic shape and have a minimal amount of
protruding parts, and here too aluminum helps the designers out.

• Today aluminum freight cars are used to transport coal, various

rocks and minerals as well as grain, while tanker cars made from
aluminum carry acids. There are also special cars for transporting
finished goods such as new cars from production facilities to
dealerships.
Uses of Aluminium
Consumer Goods – Electronics
• Manufacturers of smartphones, tablets, laptops, flat screen TVs,
monitors and other equipment are using an increasing amount of
aluminum. Aluminum combines beauty and practicality which
defines its success in this industry. Gadgets in aluminum bodies
look sophisticated and reliable, while remaining light and robust.

• Aluminum producers are offering designers and engineers new

and improved aluminum alloys, both anodized and not, polished
and matt, smooth and rifled, that allows them to implement even
the most complex and daring designer solutions.

• The whole range of Apple's MacBook uses an entirely aluminum

body in all models. Apple's designers and engineers realized that
if they replaced the multitude of components that a laptop body
consists of with just one large piece, the weight of the laptop
could be reduced drastically and could be made paper-thin. The
only way to build a component like that is to make it from one
piece of aluminum. The technology is called Unibody.
Uses of Aluminium
Consumer Goods – Interior Design
• Aluminum is used in tables, chairs, shutters, picture frames, lamps,
decorative wall panels, air conditioning units and radiators. Designers
use aluminum because it gives them a lot of freedom in choosing the
shape for their creations, as well as being easy to process and
aesthetically pleasing.

• Aluminum aided the emergence of modern high tech interiors. The

liberal use of glass and metal makes them feel more spacious and used
in both homes and offices. In addition, aluminum significantly reduces
the weight of the interior elements, making them more seamless and less
bulky.

• Mirrors will always contain aluminum, regardless of their shape, size

and style as the reflective layer that turns glass into a mirror is made
from aluminum. Aluminum is the only metal used for this purpose as it
has a high reflective coefficient. Aluminum can be used to make mirrors
with outstanding reflective properties both in the ultraviolet (visible) and
infrared ranges. As a comparison, copper reflects light in the ultraviolet
and infrared ranges while gold only reflects in the infrared range.
Uses of Aluminium
Consumer Goods – Kitchen
• These days you'd be hard pressed to find an aluminum-free kitchen.
Aluminum is not just used in the bodies of kitchen appliances, it is also
used in modern utensils from pots and frying pans to meat mincers and
baking moulds. Aluminum utensils are easy to wash, great heat
conductors allowing heat to spread evenly through the whole body,
they're not easily scratched or dented, they're corrosion resistant and on
top of it all, aluminum offers all the design benefits it demonstrates in
other sectors.

• Aluminum's high heat conductivity, which is almost 2.5 times higher

than that of steel, it allows an aluminum pan to absorb only 7% of the
heat it receives, radiating the to the food being cooked. Aluminum-
manganese alloys are used to make thick utensils such as frying pans,
roasting pans and large cooking pots. Professional chefs prefer
aluminum utensils due to these qualities. Cheaper aluminum utensils are
produced using extrusion rather than casting. To ensure the safety and
longevity of such utensils they are enameled creating popular frying
pans with non-stick surface coating.
Uses of Aluminium
Packaging – Aluminium Foil
• Thin but strong, eye-catching because of its silvery glitter, aluminum foil is
an everyday presence in our lives. Its unique insulating properties make
aluminum foil ideal packaging for just about anything.
• Aluminum foil is nothing more than aluminum alloy sheets that are
between 0.004 and 0.24 mm thick. Aluminum foil is 8 times thinner than a
banknote and yet it provides perfect protection against light, liquid and
bacteria. It is thanks to these properties the shelf life for many type of
groceries packaged in materials that include aluminum foil often exceeds
12 months.
• Aluminum foil is non-toxic, so it does not damage the foods wrapped in it,
but instead protects them. Aluminum foil is used in food containers, bins,
bottle caps, soft packages for liquids or bulk food stuffs and many other
types of containers.
• Medicines are another important product that aluminum foil is used to
package. Once manufactured, medications must be protected from the
elements over an extended period of time, often for years as exposure can
alter their properties. Aluminum foil is used in the packaging of all types of
medications such as pills, capsules, creams, lotions, liquid and powder
medications. Aluminum foil offers 100% protection against light, moisture,
oxygen and other gases as well as against microorganisms and bacteria.
Uses of Aluminium
Packaging – Aluminium Can
• Aluminum cans are the most environmentally friendly and most
recyclable type of container in the world. Aluminum cans allow the
beverages inside them to retain their taste, while protecting them from
the negative impact of the elements. In addition, the can itself does not
get rusty or lose its properties in any other way. More than half of the
aluminum in existence today will be recycled. In some countries the
share of aluminum cans in circulation is much greater than in others,
for example in Germany 95% of all beverages are contained in
aluminum cans.
• An aluminum can is more expensive to produce than a glass bottle but
its use in production is 3.5% cheaper than using a glass bottle. For
example, aluminum cans deliver significant savings when beverages
have to be transported over long distances because they're lighter than
bottles and they don't break. Modern 0.33 liter beverage cans weigh
about 25 grams and their walls are no more than 0.08 mm thick.
• Finally, the neck of the can, which is approximately 5 cm wide, is
made.. At this stage the aluminum is paper thin. The tops are made
separately and welded to the neck after the can has been filled with a
beverage.
Uses of Aluminium
Electrical Engineering
• The comparably light weight of aluminum wires reduce the load onto
grid pylons and increases the distance of spans between them, thus
reducing expenses and shortening construction time. When current
passes through aluminum wires, they heat up and their surface
[becomes covered] with an oxide film. This film serves as an excellent
insulator protecting the wires against external effects.

• An aluminum rod – a solid aluminum rod with a diameter from 9 to 15

mm – is a workpiece for an aluminum cable. It is easy to bend and roll
up without cracking. It is almost impossible to be torn or broken and
easily sustains significant static loads.

• The most wide-spread type is ACSR, aluminum conductor steel

reinforced. It has several twisted steel filaments in its core that are
"wrapped" into layers of aluminum wire. Steel is used to increase the
cable's strength and allows for the maintaining of the initial shape
when heating and under other loads. The aluminium section is
responsible for current transmission.
 Impact of the Aluminium Industry on the
Environment
• Both open and underground mines affect the plant and animal life
immediately surrounding an area and beyond for multiple generations.
Clear-cutting trees and grasslands contributes to biodiversity loss, habitat
loss, carbon emissions, and erosion. Mining operations have taken this
damage into account more and more in recent years, incorporating plans
to restore and regrow natural habitats once mining is completed.
• All refining processes use varying levels of electricity and water, which
can cause higher carbon emissions, create air and water pollution, and
even noise and heat pollution.
• Aluminum naturally occurs in waters in very low concentrations. Higher
concentrations derived from mining waste may negatively affect aquatic
biocoenosis(an association of different organisms forming a closely
integrated community). Aluminum is toxic to fish in acidic, unbuffered
waters starting at a concentration of 0.1 mg/L. Simultaneous electrolyte
shortages influence gull permeability, and damage surface gull cells.
Aluminum is mainly toxic to fish at pH values 5.0-5.5. Aluminum ions
accumulate on the gulls and clog these with a slimy layer, which limits
breathing.
Impact of the Aluminium Industry on the
Environment
• Bauxite occupational exposure affects the health of miners,
and has negative consequences on the health of surrounding
communities, such as increased respiratory symptoms,
contamination of drinking water, other potential health risks
from ingestion of bauxite and heavy metals, including noise-
induced hearing loss and mental stress

• Bauxite mining can also profoundly affect agriculture , by

contamination food products. High levels of lead found in
sweet potato, exceeding CODEX safety(a collection of
internationally recognized standards, codes of practice,
guidelines, and other recommendations relating to foods)
limit of 0.1mg/kg near mining areas.
Impact of the Aluminium Industry on the
Environment
The Smelting Process
• Since 3 moles of electrons are needed to discharged 1 mole
of aluminum , enormous amounts of electricity are needed
to process the ore. This large amount of electricity is central
to the economic considerations of the process. Therefore ,
smelting generally takes place in parts of the world where
electricity is cheap and abundant, often generated from
hydroelectric schemes.

• Energy and material costs are great because the carbon

anode need to be constantly replaced and cryolite has to be
produced.

• Disposal of used carbon cell lining is yet another problem.

These linings contain highly alkaline solutions, aluminum
carbides and cyanides which often end up in landfills.
Impact of the Aluminium Industry on the
Environment
The Smelting Process
• The process is a major greenhouse gas emitter ; gases
include perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur dioxide ( source
of acid rain), carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide
(which is poisonous). PFCs are the most potent.

• Fluorine and fluorine- based compounds lost from the

cryolite during the electrolysis process can be
poisonous when they accumulate in the environment.
They can subsequently enter the food chain when
animal gaze on grass that has been exposed to them.
Review Questions
1. Aluminium is extracted from bauxite in an electrochemical process, illustrate this
extraction with the aid of a labelled diagram.
2. What are the main reasons for adding cryolite to bauxite mixture?
3. Write an equation for the reactions occurring at the electrode.
4. Aluminium is widely used in the home and industry. With reference to uses each
in the home and in industry, justify these uses in relation to the physical and/or
chemical properties of aluminium.
5. Aluminium smelting is considered dangerous to the environment. Discuss this
statement.