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The Aluminium industry in Russia was arguably founded on 14 May 1932 when the Volkhov smelter in the Leningrad Oblast produced its first batch of aluminium. One year later, the first aluminium was produced by the Dneprovsky smelter in Ukraine. Despite the fact that in later years these smelters were steadily boosting output, it was not enough to meet the growing demands of the economy and construction of new production facilities in Russia began.

History[link]

1930s[link]

In 1938, the 40,000 Mtpa Tikhvin Alumina Refinery was put into operation (today known as the Boxitogorsk Alumina Refinery), and in 1939 the Uralsk Aluminium and Alumina Complex was commissioned with an annual capacity of 70,000 Mt of alumina and 25,000 Mt of aluminium.

World War II[link]

World War II spurred industrial development in the eastern regions of the country. Faced with the threat of having a significant part of the state’s territories occupied by the enemy, the Soviet government ordered evacuation of production facilities on an unprecedented scale. The main equipment of the Volkhov and Tikhvin smelters was disassembled and transported to the Urals and Western Siberia where it was used to construct the Bogoslovsk and Novokuznetsk aluminium smelters. In 1943, the Novokuznetsk smelter produced its first aluminium in Siberia. Two years later, on 9 May 1945 – the Victory Day – the Bogoslovsk aluminium smelter also produced its first metal.

Post war[link]

During the post-war period the demand of the Soviet economy for strategic metals continued to grow, prompting a rapid development of the aluminium industry. In the 1950s, the Kandalaksha (1951), Nadvoitsy (1954) and Volgograd (1959) smelters were commissioned, as well as the Belaya Kalitva metals production facility (1954) which specialises in aluminium alloy-based products. In 1960, the Samara metal works began operations; today it is the largest producer of aluminium semi-finished and finished products in Europe.

1950s to 1970s[link]

In addition to aluminium smelters and processing plants, the USSR was simultaneously engaged in the construction of alumina refineries. In 1959, the Pikalevo refinery, an integrated production facility processing nepheline concentrates was commissioned; in 1964, the Pavlodar aluminium smelter in Kazakhstan was put into operation; in 1970, the first batch of products was released by the Achinsk alumina refinery.

The 1960s and 1970s saw construction of the Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Bratsk smelters which were sited close to large hydro-electric power plants to make use of these cheap energy sources. Over the same period, the Krasnoyarsk metal works, the Pavlodar aluminium smelter and the Dmitrov pilot facility for production of aluminium tape were also commissioned.

1980s to 1990s[link]

Due to the poor domestic raw materials supply unable to meet the rapidly increasing demand for aluminium, Russian metal producers were forced to procure alumina from overseas: Guinea, India and other countries. The Nikolaev alumina refinery in Ukraine became the first production facility in the industry designed to use high-quality imported materials. The Nikolaev alumina refinery was built in 1980 and initially refined African bauxite.

In 1985, the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter began operation, equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and equipment. In 1995, the Sayansk Foil mill was put into operation. It is the largest Russian producer of aluminium foil and foil-based packaging materials.

The successes of the aluminium industry in Soviet times were now threatened by the break-up of the USSR. The industry was at risk of falling prey to the system’s weaknesses: a lack of in-house resources of raw materials, isolation of the Soviet economy and absence of connections with international alumina producers.

The signs of the ensuing crisis first emerged in the 1980s. After the collapse of the Soviet bloc, alumina supplies from Hungary and Yugoslavia were drastically reduced. Under the long-term contracts with these countries, the USSR used to purchase up to 1.5 million Mt of raw materials annually.

Due to the shortage of raw materials a number of production facilities began downsizing production at the end of the 1980s. Following the decision of the USSR Council of Ministers in 1991, 480,000 Mt of aluminium were allocated for sale in the world market in order to use the proceeds to procure the raw materials and equipment required by the facilities.

Break-up of the USSR[link]

The break-up of the Soviet Union aggravated the shortage of raw materials. Alumina refineries located in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan with their total annual capacity of 2.5 million Mt became foreign operations located in the independent countries. The Russian production facilities were only able to meet 40% of the aluminium business demand for raw materials.

For this reason, the government, headed by Yegor Gaidar authorised further sales of aluminium in the world market to raise funds for the purchase of raw materials. Distribution of quotas for metal sales and purchase of materials was managed by the state concern ‘Aluminium’, which was established in 1990 on the basis of the respective divisions of the Soviet Ministry of the Metal Industry.

However, this practice of providing the industry with raw materials did not develop any further. The country was going through a period of hyper-inflation and the rouble-nominated working capitals of the companies were diminishing every day. It was becoming evident that in the foreseeable future the industry would simply run out of money to continue export and import operations. Moreover, the ‘shock therapy’ economy hit the military-industrial complex and mechanical engineering the hardest, which consumed a large share of the Russian aluminium producers’ output.

By 1994, aluminium consumption in Russia fell down to 15% of the 1989 mark to about 2 kg per capita. It was becoming obvious that the only way the industry could survive was to re-orient itself towards foreign markets. As a result, the 1992 performance data showed that aluminium export exceeded the 1,000,000 Mt mark for the first time.

At the beginning of the 1990s, a long time before privatisation, the Western companies started to bring Russian aluminium smelters under their control. One Swiss trader Marc Rich began a gradual takeover of the Krasnoyarsk smelter from 1991. At the same time, the Bratsk aluminium smelter fell into the hands of the fledgling British Trans World Group (TWG). TWG was launched by brothers David and Simon Reuben in the early 1990s.^[1] Western companies started aggressive lobbying for the introduction of the internationally renowned tolling schemes in Russia, when the imported alumina is refined and the produced aluminium is exported from the country.

Privatisation[link]

In February 1993, privatisation of the aluminium industry began. In two years, the distribution of production facilities in the industry was completed. As a result, the Bratsk, Sayanogorsk, Krasnoyarsk (partially) smelters and the Pavlodar alumina refinery in Kazakhstan with an annual capacity of 1 million Mt were appropriated by TWG, whose interests in Russia were represented by the two brothers, Michael and Lev Cherney.

While selling the Russian aluminium independently on the London Metal Exchange, TWG allowed the plants to keep sufficient money to cover only production and maintenance costs. TWG did not make any investments in production with the only exception of the A7E high purity aluminium projects, in great demand in the world market.

However, in 1995 the influx of Russian aluminium caused a slump in the LME prices. The price of one tonne of aluminium dropped by US$ 300. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Railways raised export tariffs for railway transportation. Together with the rocketing alumina prices in the world market, production profitability fell down to 1%. This situation lasted for two years. Changes in world market trends did not have a major impact on tolling operators, who preferred to place all the costs upon the Russian plants and keep excess profits. TWG prevented any attempts by the Directors of Russian plants to pursue an independent industrial policy^{[citation needed]}.

It became evident that exporting production facilities were heavily dependent on market trends, when trading companies benefited from the rise in the prices, while a drop in the prices had an adverse effect exclusively on the Russian producers. Moreover, tolling did not bring any profits to the Russian state budget^{[citation needed]}.

Under the tolling scheme the imported alumina and the exported aluminium were duty-free. Tolling did not allow the working capital of the plants to increase to the required amounts. It was also not one of the strategic goals set by traders. On the contrary, TWG granted credits to the plants through its own off-shore companies and banks making them dependent not only on raw materials but also on credits. The metal that the smelters were allowed to produce for its own needs was used to repay loans of TWG, which during the second stage of privatisation became a co-owner of Russian aluminium smelters and was focused on becoming a leader in the world market by selling Russian metal on LME.

In the early 1990s, the Russian aluminium sector obtained domestic capital. In 1992, Aluminproduct headed by Oleg Deripaska started to buy shares of the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter both for itself and for Trans-CIS Commodities, a subsidiary of TWG. By the beginning of 1994, both Aluminproduct and TWG (through Trans-CIS Commodities) became the major shareholders of the Sayanogorsk smelter. Oleg Deripaska was elected the General Director of the smelter.

In 1995, it was proposed to create a financial industrial group (FIG) in the aluminium industry of Russia. The establishment of the FIG was followed by preparation for registration of the managing company Siberian Aluminium, whose shareholders were to be represented by the above mentioned group members. It was planned that TWG subsidiaries would be entitled to almost 50% of shares.

However, the preparation process stalled when the establishment of the FIG under the auspices of Trans-World Group was almost finished. By mid-1997, a serious conflict arose at a number of facilities between the Russian shareholders and top managers on one side, and TWG shareholders on the other. This resulted in a split inside the Trans-World Group.

By that time the most vulnerable areas of TWG’s aluminium empire started to cause problems. Despite excess profits, almost no investments were made into the upgrading and modernisation of production facilities. The aluminium industry moved forward from the period of survival to sustainable development; however, TWG simply did not recognise the change.

The company’s assets were not integrated. Raw materials and aluminium production facilities still did not work together. This, on the one hand, increased dependence of the plant management on TWG’s actions, but, on the other hand, made it less immune to the impact of external factors in general. In addition, the system built by the British company was not balanced in terms of raw materials. More than three quarters of the smelters’ alumina demand had to be satisfied by external resources and the materials were purchased not under long-term contracts, but in the spot market. So, when TWG’s rivals managed to take control over the Achinsk refinery, the Nikolaev refinery and the Pavlodar smelter, the empire started disintegrating rapidly.

In the autumn of 1997, Oleg Deripaska announced the termination of the partnership with Trans-World Group and initiated the establishment of a group of Russian aluminium smelters called Siberian Aluminium. The Sayanogorsk smelter became the parent enterprise with other members including the SAYANAL foil mill and the Dmitrov pilot plant of aluminium can sheets, where for the first time in Russia the production of aluminium beverage cans was being established.

Oleg Deripaska began to pursue an active policy of acquisitions and diversification of relations. In late 1997 – early 1998, the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter entered into partnership agreements with two major alumina refineries of the former USSR, the Nikolaev refinery in Ukraine and the Pavlodar refinery in Kazakhstan. The agreements provided for a future incorporation of the two refineries into the Siberian Aluminium Group.

After additional shares of the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter were issued in April–May 1998 to raise funds required for development and modernisation of the smelter, and the tender for some of the state-owned shares was held in September 1998, the companies representing TWG effectively lost their control over Sayanogorsk. During this time Aluminproduct and other companies controlled by Deripaska consolidated more than 76% of the smelter’s authorised capital.

By mid-1998, Siberian Aluminium became the industry’s largest vertically integrated structure^{[citation needed]} that possessed not only a powerful production base but also an in-house sales system and maintained stable working relations with a number of the leading Western companies such as Reynolds Metals Company (USA), FATA Group (Italy) and others.

In the meantime, Mr. Deripaska was extensively promoting the idea of the necessity to cancel the internal tolling tax benefits in the aluminium industry. His position was supported by the Russian Government, and in December 1999 the Governmental Committee on Urgent Issues adopted a resolution to cancel the tax-free internal tolling scheme from January 1, 2000.

2000 onwards[link]

The new conditions made it impossible for Lev Cherney to continue his aluminium business in Russia. In February 2000, he sold his shares in the Krasnoyarsk and Bratsk aluminium smelters, the Achinsk alumina refinery and the Krasnoyarsk HPP to the shareholders of Sibneft^{[citation needed]}.

As a result of negotiations between the shareholders of Sibneft and Siberian Aluminium in April 2000, it was decided to combine all the aluminium assets under their ownership and create a powerful integrated company, which could compete on an equal footing with the largest producers in the world market. The new company accounting for about 10% of the world’s aluminium output was called Russian Aluminium. Oleg Deripaska became the CEO of the company, whilst maintaining his position as President at Siberian Aluminium. In December 2001, Siberian Aluminium was renamed, the Basic Element Company.

At the same time, another vertically integrated aluminium holding was being created in Russia. As a result of consolidation of the equity capitals of the Irkutsk and Uralsk aluminium smelters in 1996, the Siberian-Urals Aluminium Company (SUAL) was established, and by 2000 it included the Bogoslovsk and Kandalaksha aluminium smelters. Thus, the beginning of the third millennium marked the appearance of two powerful companies in Russia with leading positions in the world’s aluminium market.

References[link]

1. ^ Behar, Richard. "Capitalism In A Cold Climate - June 12, 2000". Money.cnn.com. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/06/12/281972/index.htm. Retrieved 2012-05-29. 

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magnesium ← aluminium → silicon B ↑ Al ↓ Ga 13Al Periodic table
Appearance
silvery gray metallic Spectral lines of aluminium
General properties
Name, symbol, number	aluminium, Al, 13
Pronunciation	UK i/ˌæljʉˈmɪniəm/ AL-ew-MIN-ee-əm; or US i/əˈluːmɨnəm/ ə-LOO-mi-nəm
Element category	other metal
Group, period, block	13, 3, p
Standard atomic weight	26.9815386(13)
Electron configuration	[Ne] 3s2 3p1
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 3 (Image)
Physical properties
Phase	solid
Density (near r.t.)	2.70 g·cm−3
Liquid density at m.p.	2.375 g·cm−3
Melting point	933.47 K, 660.32 °C, 1220.58 °F
Boiling point	2792 K, 2519 °C, 4566 °F
Heat of fusion	10.71 kJ·mol−1
Heat of vaporization	294.0 kJ·mol−1
Molar heat capacity	24.200 J·mol−1·K−1
Vapor pressure
P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 1482 1632 1817 2054 2364 2790
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	3, 2[1], 1[2] (amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity	1.61 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies (more)	1st: 577.5 kJ·mol−1
	2nd: 1816.7 kJ·mol−1
	3rd: 2744.8 kJ·mol−1
Atomic radius	143 pm
Covalent radius	121±4 pm
Van der Waals radius	184 pm
Miscellanea
Crystal structure	face-centered cubic
Magnetic ordering	paramagnetic[3]
Electrical resistivity	(20 °C) 28.2 nΩ·m
Thermal conductivity	237 W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion	(25 °C) 23.1 µm·m−1·K−1
Speed of sound (thin rod)	(r.t.) (rolled) 5,000 m·s−1
Young's modulus	70 GPa
Shear modulus	26 GPa
Bulk modulus	76 GPa
Poisson ratio	0.35
Mohs hardness	2.75
Vickers hardness	167 MPa
Brinell hardness	245 MPa
CAS registry number	7429-90-5
Most stable isotopes
Main article: Isotopes of aluminium
iso NA half-life DM DE (MeV) DP 26Al trace 7.17×105 a β+ 1.17 26Mg ε - 26Mg γ 1.8086 - 27Al 100% 27Al is stable with 14 neutrons
v t e · r

Aluminium ( /ˌæljuːˈmɪniəm/ AL-ew-MIN-ee-əm) or aluminum (American English;  /ˌəlˈuːmɪnəm/ ə-LOO-mi-nəm) is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances.

Aluminium is the third most abundant element (after oxygen and silicon), and the most abundant metal, in the Earth's crust. It makes up about 8% by weight of the Earth's solid surface. Aluminium metal is too reactive chemically to occur natively. Instead, it is found combined in over 270 different minerals.^[4] The chief ore of aluminium is bauxite.

Aluminium is remarkable for the metal's low density and for its ability to resist corrosion due to the phenomenon of passivation. Structural components made from aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and are important in other areas of transportation and structural materials. The most useful compounds of aluminium, at least on a weight basis, are the oxides and sulfates.

Despite its prevalence in the environment, aluminium salts are not known to be used by any form of life. In keeping with its pervasiveness, aluminium is well tolerated by plants and animals.^[5] Due to their prevalence, potential beneficial (or otherwise) biological roles of aluminium compounds are of continuing interest.

Characteristics[link]

Etched surface from a high purity (99.9998%) aluminium bar, size 55×37 mm

Physical[link]

Aluminium is a relatively soft, durable, lightweight, ductile and malleable metal with appearance ranging from silvery to dull gray, depending on the surface roughness. It is nonmagnetic and does not easily ignite. A fresh film of aluminium film serves as a good reflector (approximately 92%) of visible light and an excellent reflector (as much as 98%) of medium and far infrared radiation. The yield strength of pure aluminium is 7–11 MPa, while aluminium alloys have yield strengths ranging from 200 MPa to 600 MPa.^[6] Aluminium has about one-third the density and stiffness of steel. It is easily machined, cast, drawn and extruded.

Aluminium atoms are arranged in a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. Aluminium has a stacking-fault energy of approximately 200 mJ/m².^[7]

Aluminium is a good thermal and electrical conductor, having 59% the conductivity of copper, both thermal and electrical. Aluminium is capable of being a superconductor, with a superconducting critical temperature of 1.2 Kelvin and a critical magnetic field of about 100 gauss (10 milliteslas).^[8]

Chemical[link]

Corrosion resistance can be excellent due to a thin surface layer of aluminium oxide that forms when the metal is exposed to air, effectively preventing further oxidation. The strongest aluminium alloys are less corrosion resistant due to galvanic reactions with alloyed copper.^[6] This corrosion resistance is also often greatly reduced by aqueous salts, particularly in the presence of dissimilar metals.

Owing to its resistance to corrosion, aluminium is one of the few metals that retain silvery reflectance in finely powdered form, making it an important component of silver-colored paints. Aluminium mirror finish has the highest reflectance of any metal in the 200–400 nm (UV) and the 3,000–10,000 nm (far IR) regions; in the 400–700 nm visible range it is slightly outperformed by tin and silver and in the 700–3000 (near IR) by silver, gold, and copper.^[9]

Aluminium is oxidized by water to produce hydrogen and heat:

2 Al + 3 H₂O → Al₂O₃ + 3H₂

This conversion is of interest for the production. Challenges include circumventing the formed oxide layer which inhibits the reaction and the expenses associated with the storage of energy by regeneration of the Al metal.^[10]

Isotopes[link]

Aluminium has many known isotopes, whose mass numbers range from 21 to 43; however, only ²⁷Al (stable isotope) and ²⁶Al (radioactive isotope, t_1/2 = 7.2×10⁵ y) occur naturally. ²⁷Al has a natural abundance above 99.9%. ²⁶Al is produced from argon in the atmosphere by spallation caused by cosmic-ray protons. Aluminium isotopes have found practical application in dating marine sediments, manganese nodules, glacial ice, quartz in rock exposures, and meteorites. The ratio of ²⁶Al to ¹⁰Be has been used to study the role of transport, deposition, sediment storage, burial times, and erosion on 10⁵ to 10⁶ year time scales.^[11] Cosmogenic ²⁶Al was first applied in studies of the Moon and meteorites. Meteoroid fragments, after departure from their parent bodies, are exposed to intense cosmic-ray bombardment during their travel through space, causing substantial ²⁶Al production. After falling to Earth, atmospheric shielding drastically reduces ²⁶Al production, and its decay can then be used to determine the meteorite's terrestrial age. Meteorite research has also shown that ²⁶Al was relatively abundant at the time of formation of our planetary system. Most meteorite scientists believe that the energy released by the decay of ²⁶Al was responsible for the melting and differentiation of some asteroids after their formation 4.55 billion years ago.^[12]

Natural occurrence[link]

Stable aluminium is created when hydrogen fuses with magnesium either in large stars or in supernovae.^[13]

In the Earth's crust, aluminium is the most abundant (8.3% by weight) metallic element and the third most abundant of all elements (after oxygen and silicon).^[14] Because of its strong affinity to oxygen, it is almost never found in the elemental state; instead it is found in oxides or silicates. Feldspars, the most common group of minerals in the Earth's crust, are aluminosilicates. Native aluminium metal can only be found as a minor phase in low oxygen fugacity environments, such as the interiors of certain volcanoes.^[15] Native aluminium has been reported in cold seeps in the northeastern continental slope of the South China Sea and Chen et al. (2011)^[16] have proposed a theory of its origin as resulting by reduction from tetrahydroxoaluminate Al(OH)₄^– to metallic aluminium by bacteria.^[16]

It also occurs in the minerals beryl, cryolite, garnet, spinel and turquoise. Impurities in Al₂O₃, such as chromium or iron yield the gemstones ruby and sapphire, respectively.

Although aluminium is an extremely common and widespread element, the common aluminium minerals are not economic sources of the metal. Almost all metallic aluminium is produced from the ore bauxite (AlO_x(OH)_3–2x). Bauxite occurs as a weathering product of low iron and silica bedrock in tropical climatic conditions.^[17] Large deposits of bauxite occur in Australia, Brazil, Guinea and Jamaica and the primary mining areas for the ore are in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Guinea, Indonesia, Jamaica, Russia and Suriname.

Production and refinement[link]

Bauxite, a major aluminium ore. The red-brown colour is due to the presence of iron minerals.

Aluminium forms strong chemical bonds with oxygen. Compared to most other metals, it is difficult to extract from ore, such as bauxite, due to the high reactivity of aluminum and the high melting point of most of its ores. For example, direct reduction with carbon, as is used to produce iron, is not chemically possible because aluminium is a stronger reducing agent than carbon. Indirect carbothermic reduction can be carried out using carbon and Al₂O₃, which forms an intermediate Al₄C₃ and this can further yield aluminium metal at a temperature of 1900–2000 °C. This process is still under development; it requires less energy and yields less CO₂ than the Hall-Héroult process, the major industrial process for aluminium extraction.^[18] Electrolytic smelting of alumina was originally cost-prohibitive in part because of the high melting point of alumina, or aluminium oxide, (about 2,000 °C (3,600 °F)). Many minerals, however, will dissolve into a second already molten mineral, even if the temperature of the melt is significantly lower than the melting point of the first mineral. Molten cryolite was discovered to dissolve alumina at temperatures signifcanlty lower than the melting point of pure alumina without interfering in the smelting process. In the Hall-Héroult process, alumina is first dissolved into molten cryolite with calcium fluoride and then electolytically reduced to aluminium at a temperature between 950 and 980 °C (1,740 to 1,800 °F). Cryolite is a chemical compound of aluminium and sodium fluorides: (Na₃AlF₆). Although cryolite is found as a mineral in Greenland, its synthetic form is used in the industry. The aluminium oxide itself is obtained by refining bauxite in the Bayer process.

The electrolytic process replaced the Wöhler process, which involved the reduction of anhydrous aluminium chloride with potassium. Both of the electrodes used in the electrolysis of aluminium oxide are carbon. Once the refined alumina is dissolved in the electrolyte, it disassociates and its ions are free to move around. The reaction at the cathode is:

Al³⁺ + 3 e⁻ → Al

Here the aluminium ion is being reduced. The aluminium metal then sinks to the bottom and is tapped off, usually cast into large blocks called aluminium billets for further processing.

At the anode, oxygen is formed:

2 O²⁻ → O₂ + 4 e⁻

To some extent, the carbon anode is consumed by subsequent reaction with oxygen to form carbon dioxide. The anodes in a reduction cell must therefore be replaced regularly, since they are consumed in the process. The cathodes do erode, mainly due to electrochemical processes and metal movement. After five to ten years, depending on the current used in the electrolysis, a cell has to be rebuilt because of cathode wear.

World production trend of aluminium

Aluminium electrolysis with the Hall-Héroult process consumes a lot of energy, but alternative processes were always found to be less viable economically and/or ecologically. The worldwide average specific energy consumption is approximately 15±0.5 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of aluminium produced (52 to 56 MJ/kg). The most modern smelters achieve approximately 12.8 kW·h/kg (46.1 MJ/kg). (Compare this to the heat of reaction, 31 MJ/kg, and the Gibbs free energy of reaction, 29 MJ/kg.) Reduction line currents for older technologies are typically 100 to 200 kiloamperes; state-of-the-art smelters operate at about 350 kA. Trials have been reported with 500 kA cells.^{[citation needed]}

The Hall-Heroult process produces aluminium with a purity of above 99%. Further purification can be done by the Hoope process. The process involves the electrolysis of molten aluminium with a sodium, barium and aluminium fluoride electrolyte. The resulting aluminium has a purity of 99.99%.^[19][20]

Electric power represents about 20% to 40% of the cost of producing aluminium, depending on the location of the smelter. Aluminium production consumes roughly 5% of electricity generated in the U.S.^[21] Smelters tend to be situated where electric power is both plentiful and inexpensive, such as the United Arab Emirates with excess natural gas supplies and Iceland and Norway with energy generated from renewable sources. The world's largest smelters of alumina are People's Republic of China, Russia, and Quebec and British Columbia in Canada.^[21][22][23]

In 2005, the People's Republic of China was the top producer of aluminium with almost a one-fifth world share, followed by Russia, Canada, and the USA, reports the British Geological Survey.

Over the last 50 years, Australia has become a major producer of bauxite ore and a major producer and exporter of alumina (before being overtaken by China in 2007).^[22][24] Australia produced 62 million tonnes of bauxite in 2005. The Australian deposits have some refining problems, some being high in silica, but have the advantage of being shallow and relatively easy to mine.^[25]

Recycling[link]

Aluminium recycling code

Aluminium is theoretically 100% recyclable without any loss of its natural qualities. According to the International Resource Panel's Metal Stocks in Society report, the global per capita stock of aluminium in use in society (i.e. in cars, buildings, electronics etc.) is 80 kg. Much of this is in more-developed countries (350–500 kg per capita) rather than less-developed countries (35 kg per capita). Knowing the per capita stocks and their approximate lifespans is important for planning recycling.

Recovery of the metal via recycling has become an important facet 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 the 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).^[26] The dross can undergo a further process to extract aluminium.

In Europe aluminium experiences high rates of recycling, ranging from 42% of beverage cans, 85% of construction materials and 95% of transport vehicles.^[27]

Recycled aluminium is known as secondary aluminium, but maintains the same physical properties as primary aluminium. Secondary aluminium is produced in a wide range of formats and is employed in 80% of alloy injections. Another important use is for extrusion.

White dross from primary aluminium production and from secondary recycling operations still contains useful quantities of aluminium that can be extracted industrially.^[28] The process produces aluminium billets, together with a highly complex waste material. This waste is difficult to manage. It reacts with water, releasing a mixture of gases (including, among others, hydrogen, acetylene, and ammonia), which spontaneously ignites on contact with air;^[29] contact with damp air results in the release of copious quantities of ammonia gas. Despite these difficulties, the waste has found use as a filler in asphalt and concrete.^[30]

Compounds[link]

Oxidation state +3[link]

The vast majority of compounds, including all Al-containing minerals and all commercially significant aluminium compounds, feature aluminium in the oxidation state 3+. The coordination number of such compounds varies, but generally Al³⁺ is six-coordinate or tetracoordinate. Almost all compounds of aluminium(III) are colorless.^[14]

Halides[link]

All four trihalides are well known. Unlike the structures of the three heavier trihalides, aluminium fluoride (AlF₃) features six-coordinate Al. The octahedral coordination environment for AlF₃ is related to the compactness of fluoride ion, six of which can fit around the small Al³⁺ centre. AlF₃ sublimes (with cracking) at 1,291 °C (2,356 °F). With heavier halides, the coordination numbers are lower. The other trihalides are dimeric or polymeric with tetrahedral Al centers. These materials are prepared by treating aluminium metal with the halogen, although other methods exist. Acidification of the oxides or hydroxides affords hydrates. In aqueous solution, the halides often form mixtures, generally containing six-coordinate Al centres, which are feature both halide and aquo ligands. When aluminium and fluoride are together in aqueous solution, they readily form complex ions such as [AlF(H₂O)₅]²⁺, AlF₃(H₂O)₃, and [AlF₆]³⁻. In the case of chloride, polyaluminium clusters are formed such as [Al₁₃O₄(OH)₂₄(H₂O)₁₂]⁷⁺.

Oxide and hydroxides[link]

Aluminium forms one stable oxide, known by its mineral name corundum. Sapphire and ruby are impure corundum contaminated with trace amounts of other metals. The two oxide-hydroxides (AlO(OH) are boehmite and diaspore. There are three trihydroxides: bayerite, gibbsite, and nordstrandite, which differ in their crystalline structure (polymorphs). Most are produced from ores by a variety of wet processes using acid and base. Heating the hydroxides leads to formation of corundrum. These materials are of central importance to the production of aluminium and are themselves extremely useful.

Carbide, nitride, and related materials[link]

Aluminium carbide (Al₄C₃) is made by heating a mixture of the elements above 1,000 °C (1,832 °F). The pale yellow crystals consist of tetrahedral aluminium centres. It reacts with water or dilute acids to give methane. The acetylide, Al₂(C₂)₃, is made by passing acetylene over heated aluminium.

Aluminium nitride (AlN) is the only nitride known for aluminium. Unlike the oxides it features tetrahedral Al centres. It can be made from the elements at 800 °C (1,472 °F). It is air-stable material with a usefully high thermal conductivity. Aluminium phosphide (AlP) is made similarly, and hydrolyses to give phosphine:

AlP + 3 H₂O → Al(OH)₃ + PH₃

Organoaluminium compounds and related hydrides[link]

Structure of trimethylaluminium, a compound that features five-coordinate carbon.

A variety of compounds of empirical formula AlR₃ and AlR_1.5Cl_1.5 exist.^[31] These species usually feature tetrahedral Al centres, e.g. "trimethylaluminium" has the formula Al₂(CH₃)₆ (see figure). With large organic groups, triorganoaluminium exist as three-coordinate monomers, such as triisobutylaluminium. Such compounds are widely used in industrial chemistry, despite the fact that they are often highly pyrophoric. Few analogues exist between organoaluminium and organoboron compounds except for large organic groups.

The important aluminium hydride is lithium aluminium hydride (LiAlH₄), which is used in as a reducing agent in organic chemistry. It can be produced from lithium hydride and aluminium trichloride:

4 LiH + AlCl₃ → LiAlH₄ + 3 LiCl

Several useful derivatives of LiAlH₄ are known, e.g. Sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)dihydridoaluminate. The simplest hydride, aluminium hydride or alane, remains a laboratory curiosity. It is a polymer with the formula (AlH₃)_n, in contrast to the corresponding boron hydride with the formula (BH₃)₂.

Oxidation states +1 and +2[link]

Although the great majority of aluminium compounds feature Al³⁺ centres, compounds with lower oxidation states are known and sometime of significance as precursors to the Al³⁺ species.

Aluminium(I)[link]

AlF, AlCl and AlBr exist in the gaseous phase when the tri-halide is heated with aluminium. The composition AlI is unstable at room temperature with respect to the triiodide:^[32]

3 AlI → AlI₃ + 2 Al

A stable derivative of aluminium monoiodide is the cyclic adduct formed with triethylamine, Al₄I₄(NEt₃)₄. Also of theoretical interest but only of fleeting existence are Al₂O and Al₂S is made by heating the normal oxide, Al₂O₃, with silicon at 1,800 °C (3,272 °F) in a vacuum.^[32] Such materials quickly disproportionates to the starting materials.

Aluminium(II)[link]

Very simple Al(II) compounds are invoked or observed in the reactions of Al metal with oxidants. For example, aluminium monoxide, AlO, has been detected in the gas phase after explosion^[33] and in stellar absorption spectra.^[34] More thoroughly investigated are compounds of the formula R₄Al₂ where R is a large organic ligand.^[35]

Analysis[link]

The presence of aluminium can be detected in qualitative analysis using aluminon.

Applications[link]

General use[link]

Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal.^[36] Global production of aluminium in 2005 was 31.9 million tonnes. It exceeded that of any other metal except iron (837.5 million tonnes).^[37] Forecast for 2012 is 42–45 million tonnes, driven by rising Chinese output.^[38]

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.^[39] The main alloying agents are copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and silicon (e.g., duralumin) and the levels of these other metals are in the range of a few percent by weight.^[40]

Aluminium-bodied Austin "A40 Sports" (circa 1951)

Aluminium slabs being transported from a smelter

Some of the many uses for aluminium metal are in:

• Transportation (automobiles, aircraft, trucks, railway cars, marine vessels, bicycles, etc.) as sheet, tube, castings, etc.
• Packaging (cans, foil, etc.)
• Construction (windows, doors, siding, building wire, etc.).^[41]
• A wide range of household items, from cooking utensils to baseball bats, watches.^[42]
• Street lighting poles, sailing ship masts, walking poles, etc.
• Outer shells of consumer electronics, also cases for equipment e.g. photographic equipment.
• Electrical transmission lines for power distribution
• MKM steel and Alnico magnets
• Super purity aluminium (SPA, 99.980% to 99.999% Al), used in electronics and CDs.
• Heat sinks for electronic appliances such as transistors and CPUs.
• Substrate material of metal-core copper clad laminates used in high brightness LED lighting.
• Powdered aluminium is used in paint, and in pyrotechnics such as solid rocket fuels and thermite.
• Aluminium can be reacted with hydrochloric acid or with sodium hydroxide to produce hydrogen gas.
• A variety of countries, including France, Italy, Poland, Finland, Romania, Israel, and the former Yugoslavia, have issued coins struck in aluminium or aluminium-copper alloys.^[43][44]
• Some guitar models sports aluminium diamond plates on the surface of the instruments, usually either chrome or black. Kramer Guitars and Travis Bean are both known for having produced guitars with necks made of aluminium, which gives the instrument a very distinct sound.

Aluminium is usually alloyed – it is used as pure metal only when corrosion resistance and/or workability is more important than strength or hardness. A thin layer of aluminium can be deposited onto a flat surface by physical vapour deposition or (very infrequently) chemical vapour deposition or other chemical means to form optical coatings and mirrors.

Aluminium compounds[link]

Because aluminium is abundant and most of its derivative exhibit low toxicity, the compounds of aluminium enjoy wide and sometimes large-scale applications.

Alumina[link]

Aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) and the associated oxy-hydroxides and trihydroxides are produced or extracted from minerals on a large scale. The great majority of this material is converted to metallic aluminium. About 10% of the production capacity is used for other applications. A major use is as an absorbent, for example alumina will remove water from hydrocarbons, to enable subsequent processes that are poisoned by moisture. Aluminium oxides are common catalysts for industrial processes, e.g. the Claus process for converting hydrogen sulfide to sulfur in refineries and for the alkylation of amines. Many industrial catalysts are "supported", meaning generally that an expensive catalyst (e.g., platinum) is dispersed over a high surface area material such as alumina. Being a very hard material (Mohs hardness 9), alumina is widely used as an abrasive and the production of applications that exploit its inertness, e.g., in high pressure sodium lamps.

Sulfates[link]

Several sulfates of aluminium find applications. Aluminium sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃(H₂O)₁₈) is produced on the annual scale of several billions of kilograms. About half of the production is consumed in water treatment. The next major application is in the manufacture of paper. It is also used as a mordant, in fire extinguisher, as a food additive, in fireproofing, and in leather tanning. Aluminium ammonium sulfate, which is also called ammonium alum, (NH₄)Al(SO₄)₂·12H₂O, is used as a mordant and in leather tanning.^[5] Aluminium potassium sulfate ([Al(K)](SO₄)₂)(H₂O)₁₂ is used similarly. The consumption of both alums is declining.

Chlorides[link]

Aluminium chloride (AlCl₃) is used in petroleum refining and in the production of synthetic rubber and polymers. Although it has a similar name, aluminium chlorohydrate has fewer and very different applications, e.g. as a hardening agent and an antiperspirant. It is an intermediate in the production of aluminium metal.

Niche compounds[link]

Given the scale of aluminium compounds, a small scale application could still involve thousands of tonnes. One of the many compounds used at this intermediate level include aluminium acetate, a salt used in solution as an astringent. Aluminium borate (Al₂O₃·B₂O₃) is used in the production of glass and ceramics. Aluminium fluorosilicate (Al₂(SiF₆)₃) is used in the production of synthetic gemstones, glass and ceramic. Aluminium phosphate (AlPO₄) is used in the manufacture: of glass and ceramic, pulp and paper products, cosmetics, paints and varnishes and in making dental cement. Aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)₃) is used as an antacid, as a mordant, in water purification, in the manufacture of glass and ceramic 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 cocatalysts. For example, methylaluminoxane is a cocatalyst for Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization to produce vinyl polymers such as polyethene.

Aluminium alloys in structural applications[link]

Aluminium foam

Aluminium alloys with a wide range of properties are used in engineering structures. Alloy systems are classified by a number system (ANSI) or by names indicating their main alloying constituents (DIN and ISO).

The strength and durability of aluminium alloys vary widely, not only as a result of the components of the specific alloy, but also as a result of heat treatments and manufacturing processes. A lack of knowledge of these aspects has from time to time led to improperly designed structures and gained aluminium a bad reputation.

One important structural limitation of aluminium alloys is their fatigue strength. Unlike steels, aluminium alloys have no well-defined fatigue limit, meaning that fatigue failure eventually occurs, under even very small cyclic loadings. This implies that engineers must assess these loads and design for a fixed life rather than an infinite life.

Another important property of aluminium alloys is their sensitivity to heat. Workshop procedures involving heating are complicated by the fact that aluminium, unlike steel, melts without first glowing red. Forming operations where a blow torch is used therefore require some expertise, since no visual signs reveal how close the material is to melting. Aluminium alloys, like all structural alloys, also are subject to internal stresses following heating operations such as welding and casting. The problem with aluminium alloys in this regard is their low melting point, which make them more susceptible to distortions from thermally induced stress relief. Controlled stress relief can be done during manufacturing by heat-treating the parts in an oven, followed by gradual cooling—in effect annealing the stresses.

The low melting point of aluminium alloys has not precluded their use in rocketry; even for use in constructing combustion chambers where gases can reach 3500 K. The Agena upper stage engine used a regeneratively cooled aluminium design for some parts of the nozzle, including the thermally critical throat region.

Another alloy of some value is aluminium bronze (Cu-Al alloy).

History[link]

The statue of the Anteros (commonly mistaken for either The Angel of Christian Charity or Eros) in Piccadilly Circus, London, was made in 1893 and is one of the first statues to be cast in aluminium.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used aluminium salts as dyeing mordants and as astringents for dressing wounds; alum is still used as a styptic. In 1761, Guyton de Morveau suggested calling the base alum alumine. In 1808, Humphry Davy identified the existence of a metal base of alum, which he at first termed alumium and later aluminum (see etymology section, below).

The metal was first produced in 1825 in an impure form by Danish physicist and chemist Hans Christian Ørsted. He reacted anhydrous aluminium chloride with potassium amalgam, yielding a lump of metal looking similar to tin.^[45] Friedrich Wöhler was aware of these experiments and cited them, but after redoing the experiments of Ørsted he concluded that this metal was pure potassium. He conducted a similar experiment in 1827 by mixing anhydrous aluminium chloride with potassium and yielded aluminium.^[45] Wöhler is generally credited with isolating aluminium (Latin alumen, alum), but also Ørsted can be listed as its discoverer.^[46] Further, Pierre Berthier discovered aluminium in bauxite ore and successfully extracted it.^[47] Frenchman Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville improved Wöhler's method in 1846, and described his improvements in a book in 1859, chief among these being the substitution of sodium for the considerably more expensive potassium.^[48] Deville likely also conceived the idea of the electrolysis of aluminium oxide dissolved in cryolite; Charles Martin Hall and Paul Héroult might have developed the more practical process after Deville.

Before the Hall-Héroult process was developed in the late 1880s, aluminium was exceedingly difficult to extract from its various ores. This made pure aluminium more valuable than gold.^[49] Bars of aluminium were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1855.^[50] Napoleon III, Emperor of France, is reputed to have given a banquet where the most honoured guests were given aluminium utensils, while the others made do with gold.^[51][52]

Aluminium was selected as the material to be used for the 100 ounce (2.8 kg) capstone of the Washington Monument in 1884, a time when one ounce (30 grams) cost the daily wage of a common worker on the project;^[53] The capstone, which was set in place on December 6, 1884, in an elaborate dedication ceremony, was the largest single piece of aluminium cast at the time, when aluminium was as expensive as silver.^[53]

The Cowles companies supplied aluminium alloy in quantity in the United States and England using smelters like the furnace of Carl Wilhelm Siemens by 1886.^[54][55][56] Charles Martin Hall of Ohio in the U.S. and Paul Héroult of France independently developed the Hall-Héroult electrolytic process that made extracting aluminium from minerals cheaper and is now the principal method used worldwide. Hall's process,^[57] in 1888 with the financial backing of Alfred E. Hunt, started the Pittsburgh Reduction Company today known as Alcoa. Héroult's process was in production by 1889 in Switzerland at Aluminium Industrie, now Alcan, and at British Aluminium, now Luxfer Group and Alcoa, by 1896 in Scotland.^[58]

By 1895, the metal was being used as a building material as far away as Sydney, Australia in the dome of the Chief Secretary's Building.

Many navies have used an aluminium superstructure for their vessels; the 1975 fire aboard USS Belknap that gutted her aluminium superstructure, as well as observation of battle damage to British ships during the Falklands War, led to many navies switching to all steel superstructures. The Arleigh Burke class was the first such U.S. ship, being constructed entirely of steel.

Aluminium wire was once widely used for domestic electrical wiring. Owing to corrosion-induced failures, a number of fires resulted. This discontinuation thus illustrates one failed application of the otherwise highly useful metal.

Etymology[link]

Two variants of the metal's name are in current use, aluminium and aluminum (besides the obsolete alumium). The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990 but, three years later, recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table includes both.^[59] IUPAC prefers the use of aluminium in its internal publications, although nearly as many IUPAC publications use the spelling aluminum.^[60]

Most countries use the spelling aluminium. In the United States, the spelling aluminum predominates.^[14][61] The Canadian Oxford Dictionary prefers aluminum, whereas the Australian Macquarie Dictionary prefers aluminium. In 1926, the American Chemical Society officially decided to use aluminum in its publications; American dictionaries typically label the spelling aluminium as a British variant.

The name aluminium derives from its status as a base of alum. It is borrowed from Old French; its ultimate source, alumen, in turn is a Latin word that literally means "bitter salt".^[62]

The earliest citation given in the Oxford English Dictionary for any word used as a name for this element is alumium, which British chemist and inventor Humphry Davy employed in 1808 for the metal he was trying to isolate electrolytically from the mineral alumina. The citation is from the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London: "Had I been so fortunate as to have obtained more certain evidences on this subject, and to have procured the metallic substances I was in search of, I should have proposed for them the names of silicium, alumium, zirconium, and glucium."^[63][64]

Davy settled on aluminum by the time he published his 1812 book Chemical Philosophy: "This substance appears to contain a peculiar metal, but as yet Aluminum has not been obtained in a perfectly free state, though alloys of it with other metalline substances have been procured sufficiently distinct to indicate the probable nature of alumina."^[65] But the same year, an anonymous contributor to the Quarterly Review, a British political-literary journal, in a review of Davy's book, objected to aluminum and proposed the name aluminium, "for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound."^[66]

The -ium suffix conformed to the precedent set in other newly discovered elements of the time: potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and strontium (all of which Davy isolated himself). Nevertheless, -um spellings for elements were not unknown at the time, as for example platinum, known to Europeans since the 16th century, molybdenum, discovered in 1778, and tantalum, discovered in 1802. The -um suffix is consistent with the universal spelling alumina for the oxide, as lanthana is the oxide of lanthanum, and magnesia, ceria, and thoria are the oxides of magnesium, cerium, and thorium respectively.

The spelling used throughout the 19th century by most U.S. chemists was aluminium, but common usage is less clear.^[67] The aluminum spelling is used in the Webster's Dictionary of 1828. In his advertising handbill for his new electrolytic method of producing the metal 1892, Charles Martin Hall used the -um spelling, despite his constant use of the -ium spelling in all the patents^[57] he filed between 1886 and 1903.^[68] It has consequently been suggested that the spelling reflects an easier to pronounce word with one fewer syllable, or that the spelling on the flier was a mistake. Hall's domination of production of the metal ensured that the spelling aluminum became the standard in North America; the Webster Unabridged Dictionary of 1913, though, continued to use the -ium version.

Health concerns[link]

NFPA 704
0 0 0
Fire diamond for aluminium shot

Despite its natural abundance, aluminium has no known function in biology. It is remarkably nontoxic, aluminium sulfate having an LD50 of 6207 mg/kg (oral, mouse), which corresponds to 500 grams for a 80 kg person.^[5] Despite the extremely low acute toxicity, the health effects of aluminium are of interest in view of the widespread occurrence of the element in the environment and in commerce.

Some toxicity can be traced to deposition in bone and the central nervous system, which is particularly increased in patients with reduced renal function. Because aluminium competes with calcium for absorption, increased amounts of dietary aluminium may contribute to the reduced skeletal mineralization (osteopenia) observed in preterm infants and infants with growth retardation. In very high doses, aluminium can cause neurotoxicity, and is associated with altered function of the blood–brain barrier.^[69] A small percentage of people are allergic to aluminium and experience contact dermatitis, digestive disorders, vomiting or other symptoms upon contact or ingestion of products containing aluminium, such as deodorants or antacids. In those without allergies, aluminium is not as toxic as heavy metals, but there is evidence of some toxicity if it is consumed in excessive amounts.^[70] Although the use of aluminium cookware has not been shown to lead to aluminium toxicity in general, excessive consumption of antacids containing aluminium compounds and excessive use of aluminium-containing antiperspirants provide more significant exposure levels. Studies have shown that consumption of acidic foods or liquids with aluminium significantly increases aluminium absorption,^[71] and maltol has been shown to increase the accumulation of aluminium in nervous and osseus tissue.^[72] Furthermore, aluminium increases estrogen-related gene expression in human breast cancer cells cultured in the laboratory.^[73] The estrogen-like effects of these salts have led to their classification as a metalloestrogen.

The effects of aluminium in antiperspirants has been examined over the course of decades with little evidence of skin irritation.^[5] Nonetheless, its occurrence in antiperspirants, dyes (such as aluminium lake), and food additives is controversial in some quarters. Although there is little evidence that normal exposure to aluminium presents a risk to healthy adults,^[74] some studies point to risks associated with increased exposure to the metal.^[75] Aluminium in food may be absorbed more than aluminium from water.^[76] Some researchers have expressed concerns that the aluminium in antiperspirants may increase the risk of breast cancer,^[77] and aluminium has controversially been implicated as a factor in Alzheimer's disease.^[78] The Camelford water pollution incident involved a number of people consuming aluminium sulfate. Investigations of the long-term health effects are still ongoing, but elevated brain aluminium concentrations have been found in post-mortem examinations of victims, and further research to determine if there is a link with cerebral amyloid angiopathy has been commissioned.^[79]

According to The Alzheimer's Society, the overwhelming medical and scientific opinion is that studies have not convincingly demonstrated a causal relationship between aluminium and Alzheimer's disease.^[80] Nevertheless, some studies, such as those on the PAQUID cohort,^[81] cite aluminium exposure as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Some brain plaques have been found to contain increased levels of the metal.^[82] Research in this area has been inconclusive; aluminium accumulation may be a consequence of the disease rather than a causal agent. In any event, if there is any toxicity of aluminium, it must be via a very specific mechanism, since total human exposure to the element in the form of naturally occurring clay in soil and dust is enormously large over a lifetime.^[83][84] Scientific consensus does not yet exist about whether aluminium exposure could directly increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.^[80]

Effect on plants[link]

Aluminium is primary among the factors that reduce plant growth on acid soils. Although it is generally harmless to plant growth in pH-neutral soils, the concentration in acid soils of toxic Al³⁺ cations increases and disturbs root growth and function.^{[85][86][87][88]}

Most acid soils are saturated with aluminium rather than hydrogen ions. The acidity of the soil is therefore a result of hydrolysis of aluminium compounds.^[89] This concept of "corrected lime potential"^[90] to define the degree of base saturation in soils became the basis for procedures now used in soil testing laboratories to determine the "lime requirement"^[91] of soils.^[92]

Wheat's adaptation to allow aluminium tolerance is such that the aluminium induces a release of organic compounds that bind to the harmful aluminium cations. Sorghum is believed to have the same tolerance mechanism. The first gene for aluminium tolerance has been identified in wheat. It was shown that sorghum's aluminium tolerance is controlled by a single gene, as for wheat.^[93] This is not the case in all plants.

See also[link]

Books View or order collections of articles	Aluminium Period 3 elements Boron group Chemical elements
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References[link]