Aluminum

Dear Xavier,


   


    Hello buddy!   How is the weather in Paris?   It is extremely cold in New York and there is snow all over the place.   The reason I am writing is to give you the information you wanted on aluminum.   I have everything you would possibly want to know about everything from mining to recycling, but I will begin with a little background on the element first.


    Aluminum is the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust and was probably formed during the birth of our solar system through collisions of hydrogen atoms under intense heat and pressure.   Aluminum never occurs as a metal in nature and is only found in the form of its compounds, such as alumina, because of its strong affinity with oxygen.   It is this special bond for oxygen that explains why it withstood all attempts to prepare it in its elemental form until well into the nineteenth century.


    The aluminum industry was founded in 1854, but it was not until the late 1880's that a method was found to bring down the prices and permit aluminum to be used in a wide variety of ways.   Most of the aluminum in the world today is made from Bauxite.   It was first discovered in 1821 near Les Baux, France.   It was formed by the weathering of   aluminous rocks such as feldspar, nepheline, and clays.   During the weathering,   these rocks are decomposed and leached out,   leaving behind a residue of ore rich in alumina, iron oxide, and silica.  


    Most of these large Bauxite deposits are found in the tropical and the subtropical climates, where heavy rainfall, warm temperatures, and good drainage combine to encourage the weathering process.  


    Because Bauxite is usually found near the surface, it is mined by open-pit methods.   After the extraction of the Bauxite, it must be converted to Alumina by the Bayer Process, a process patented in 1888 and is still used today.   This process begins when bauxite is smashed by being mixed with soda ash and lime...