ALUMINIUM

Aluminium (the Commonwealth and preferred IUPAC name) or aluminum (North American English) is a chemical element; it has symbol Al and atomic number 13. 
Aluminium has a density lower than other common metals, about one-third that of steel. 
Aluminium has a great affinity toward oxygen, forming a protective layer of oxide on the surface when exposed to air. 

CAS Number: 7429-90-5
EC Number (EINECS): 231-072-3
Molecular Formula: Al
Molecular Weight:(26.98g/mol

Synonym
Aluminum bronze; Aluminum flake; Aluminum-27; Aluminum dehydrated; Aluminum powder; Caswell No. 028A; CI 77000; Emanay atomized aluminum powder; Metana; Noral aluminum; Noral ink grade Aluminum; EPA Pesticide Code: 000111

Aluminium visually resembles silver, both in its color and in its great ability to reflect light. 
Aluminium is soft, nonmagnetic, and ductile. 
Aluminium has one stable isotope, 27Al, which is highly abundant, making aluminium the 12th-most abundant element in the universe. 
The radioactivity of 26Al leads to it being used in radiometric dating.

Chemically, aluminium is a post-transition metal in the boron group; as is common for the group, aluminium forms compounds primarily in the +3 oxidation state. 
The aluminium cation Al3+ is small and highly charged; as such, it has more polarizing power, and bonds formed by aluminium have a more covalent character. 
The strong affinity of aluminium for oxygen leads to the common occurrence of its oxides in nature. 
Aluminium is found on Earth primarily in rocks in the crust, where it is the third-most abundant element after oxygen and silicon, rather than in the mantle, and virtually never as the free metal. 
Aluminium is obtained industrially by mining bauxite, a sedimentary rock rich in aluminium minerals.

The discovery of aluminium was announced in 1825 by Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted.
The first industrial production of aluminium was initiated by French chemist Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville in 1856. 
Aluminium became much more available to the public with the Hall–Héroult process developed independently by French engineer Paul Héroult and American engineer Charles Martin Hall in 1886, and the mass production of aluminium led to its extensive use in industry and everyday life. 
In 1954, aluminium became the most produced non-ferrous metal, surpassing copper. 
In the 21st century, most aluminium was consumed in transportation, engineering, construction, and packaging in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan.
The standard atomic weight of aluminium is low in comparison with many other metals,[b] giving it the low density responsible for many of its uses.

Despite its prevalence in the environment, no living thing is known to metabolize aluminium salts, but aluminium is well tolerated by plants and animals. 
Because of the abundance of these salts, the potential for a biological role for them is of interest, and studies are ongoing.
Aluminum powder, commonly known as “silver powder”, refers to a silver metallic pigment made by adding a small amount of lubricant to pure aluminum foil, crushing it into a scaly powder by ramming, and then polishing it. 
Aluminum powder is lightweight, has high buoyancy, strong covering power, and good reflection performance for both light and heat. 
After treatment, it can also become non floating aluminum powder. 
Aluminum can be used to identify fingerprints and can also be used as fireworks. 
Aluminum is a major category of metal pigments due to its wide range of applications, high demand, and diverse varieties.

Aluminum, CAS number 7429-90-5, is a lightweight, silvery-white metal known for its excellent corrosion resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio. 
Aluminium is the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust and is primarily obtained from bauxite through the Bayer process. 
Aluminum is characterized by its malleability, ductility, and ability to conduct electricity and heat, making it a versatile material in a variety of applications, including construction, transportation, and packaging. 
Aluminium has a relatively low melting point compared to other metals, which facilitates its processing and shaping. 
Aluminum forms a protective oxide layer when exposed to air, enhancing its corrosion resistance. 
Furthermore, Aluminium is non-toxic and recyclable, contributing to its popularity in sustainable practices. 
The metal can also form various alloys, which further improve its mechanical properties and suitability for specific applications. 
Overall, the unique combination of properties in aluminum makes it an essential material in modern industry and technology.

Uses
The global production of aluminium in 2016 was 58.8 million metric tons. 
Aluminium exceeded that of any other metal except iron (1,231 million metric tons).
Aluminium is almost always alloyed, which markedly improves its mechanical properties, especially when tempered. 
For example, the common aluminium foils and beverage cans are alloys of 92% to 99% aluminium.
The main alloying agents for both wrought and cast aluminium are copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and silicon (e.g., duralumin) with the levels of other metals in a few percent by weight.
The major uses for aluminium are in:

Transportation (automobiles, aircraft, trucks, railway cars, marine vessels, bicycles, spacecraft, etc.). Aluminium is used because of its low density, durability, and corrosion resistance;
Packaging (cans, foil, frame, etc.). 
Aluminium is used because it is non-toxic (see below), non-adsorptive, and splinter-proof;
Building and construction (windows, doors, siding, building wire, sheathing, roofing, etc.). Since steel is cheaper, aluminium is used when lightness, corrosion resistance, or engineering features are important;
Electricity-related uses (conductor alloys, motors, and generators, transformers, capacitors, etc.). Aluminium is used because it is relatively cheap, highly conductive, has adequate mechanical strength and low density, and resists corrosion;
A wide range of household items, from cooking utensils to furniture. 

Low density, good appearance, ease of fabrication, and durability are the key factors of aluminium usage. 
Aluminium is the material of choice for cookware, pans, dishes, and utensils because it heats up quickly, cools down quickly, and is cost-effective. 
This is why it is used both in fast-food restaurants and in home kitchens;
Machinery and equipment (processing equipment, pipes, tools, t-slot framing). 
Aluminium is used because of its corrosion resistance, non-pyrophoricity, and mechanical strength.
Aluminium is the main substitute to copper and its applications to the traditional domains of copper have seen increased interest when copper prices are high such as in 2011–2014 and 2021.
There is a competition in the use of aluminium and copper in the automotive industry, but in other uses such as in the construction industry and in underground and submarine cables aluminium has been largely unable to compete with copper.

Properties
Aluminium is a very good conductor of electricity and heat. 
Aluminium is light and strong. 
Aluminium can be hammered into sheets (malleable) or pulled out into wires (ductile). 
Aluminium is a highly reactive metal, although it is corrosion resistant.
A fresh film of aluminium is a good reflector of visible light and an excellent reflector of medium and far infrared radiation.
Aluminium prevents corrosion by forming a small, thin layer of aluminium oxide on its surface. 
This layer protects the metal by preventing oxygen from reaching it. 
Corrosion can not occur without oxygen. 
Because of this thin layer, the reactivity of aluminium is not seen. 
As a powder Aluminium burns hot. 
Uses include fireworks displays and rocket fuel.

Compounds
The great majority (about 90%) of aluminium oxide is converted to metallic aluminium.
Being a very hard material (Mohs hardness 9), alumina is widely used as an abrasive; being extraordinarily chemically inert, Aluminium is useful in highly reactive environments such as high pressure sodium lamps.
Aluminium oxide is commonly used as a catalyst for industrial processes; e.g. the Claus process to convert hydrogen sulfide to sulfur in refineries and to alkylate amines.
Many industrial catalysts are supported by alumina, meaning that the expensive catalyst material is dispersed over a surface of the inert alumina.
Another principal use is as a drying agent or absorbent.
Several sulfates of aluminium have industrial and commercial application. 
Aluminium sulfate (in its hydrate form) is produced on the annual scale of several millions of metric tons.

About two-thirds is consumed in water treatment.
The next major application is in the manufacture of paper.
Aluminium is also used as a mordant in dyeing, in pickling seeds, deodorizing of mineral oils, in leather tanning, and in production of other aluminium compounds.
Two kinds of alum, ammonium alum and potassium alum, were formerly used as mordants and in leather tanning, but their use has significantly declined following availability of high-purity aluminium sulfate.
Anhydrous aluminium chloride is used as a catalyst in chemical and petrochemical industries, the dyeing industry, and in synthesis of various inorganic and organic compounds.
Aluminium hydroxychlorides are used in purifying water, in the paper industry, and as antiperspirants.
Sodium aluminate is used in treating water and as an accelerator of solidification of cement.

Many aluminium compounds have niche applications, for example:
Aluminium acetate in solution is used as an astringent.
Aluminium phosphate is used in the manufacture of glass, ceramic, pulp and paper products, cosmetics, paints, varnishes, and in dental cement.
Aluminium hydroxide is used as an antacid, and mordant; it is used also in water purification, the manufacture of glass and ceramics, and in the waterproofing of fabrics.
Lithium aluminium hydride is a powerful reducing agent used in organic chemistry.
Organoaluminiums are used as Lewis acids and co-catalysts.
Methylaluminoxane is a co-catalyst for Ziegler–Natta olefin polymerization to produce vinyl polymers such as polyethene.
Aqueous aluminium ions (such as aqueous aluminium sulfate) are used to treat against fish parasites such as Gyrodactylus salaris.
In many vaccines, certain aluminium salts serve as an immune adjuvant (immune response booster) to allow the protein in the vaccine to achieve sufficient potency as an immune stimulant.
Until 2004, most of the adjuvants used in vaccines were aluminium-adjuvanted.

Recycling
Recovery of the metal through recycling has become an important task of the aluminium industry. 
Recycling was a low-profile activity until the late 1960s, when the growing use of aluminium beverage cans brought it to public awareness.
Recycling involves melting the scrap, a process that requires only 5% of the energy used to produce aluminium from ore, though a significant part (up to 15% of the input material) is lost as dross (ash-like oxide).
An aluminium stack melter produces significantly less dross, with values reported below 1%.

White dross from primary aluminium production and from secondary recycling operations still contains useful quantities of aluminium that can be extracted industrially. 
The process produces aluminium billets, together with a highly complex waste material. 
This waste is difficult to manage.
Aluminium reacts with water, releasing a mixture of gases including, among others, acetylene, hydrogen sulfide and significant amounts of ammonia.
Despite these difficulties, the waste is used as a filler in asphalt and concrete.
Its potential for hydrogen production has also been considered and researched.

Toxicity
Aluminium is classified as a non-carcinogen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
A review published in 1988 said that there was little evidence that normal exposure to aluminium presents a risk to healthy adult, and a 2014 multi-element toxicology review was unable to find deleterious effects of aluminium consumed in amounts not greater than 40 mg/day per kg of body mass. 
Most ingested aluminium is eliminated in feces, and much of what enters the bloodstream is excreted in urine; however, not all absorbed or parenterally administered aluminium is cleared through urinary excretion.