Aluminium is a metal commonly found in the Earth’s crust. It is usually extracted by processing bauxite, which is mined as aluminium ore. The popularity of aluminium is determined not only by the abundance of bauxite but also by the element’s chemical-physical properties, which are very favourable to the manufacturing industry. Aluminium is an extremely light, soft, corrosion-resistant metal with excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, and it is easy to recycle. Aluminium melts at 660°C and boils when heated to 2467°C.
Aluminium (chemical symbol Al) is used in everything from everyday household appliances to high-tech industries. If you look around, you can easily find this metal in your surroundings. In the household, larger amounts of aluminium are found in refrigerators (~1-2 kg aluminium/unit) and washing machines (0.5-1 kg aluminium/unit), as well as in laptops (0.2-0.5 kg/unit) and televisions (0.5-1 kg/unit). Aluminium is also widely used in the production of various vehicles, including cars and bicycles.
The demand for aluminium is felt in the production of renewable energy equipment as well as in the construction, chemical, and military industries. The metal is used in the production of various weapons, wind turbine blades, and solar collector frames, as well as in the chemical extraction of other materials.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/science/aluminum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauxite
