Aluminium
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057150 |
| Pages | 13-15 |
| Date | 01 October 1980 |
| Published date | 01 October 1980 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Aluminium
Extruded aluminium ready for stretch straightening and cutting to length
SINCE the development of the elec-
trolytic reduction process by Hall and
Heroult in 1886, which made possible
the volume production of aluminium
at an economic price, the usage of the
metal has rapidly increased. Fifteen
tonnes were produced in 1885;
71,000 tonnes in 1914; 133,000 in
1919;
704,000 in 1939 and a wartime
peak of just under two million tonnes
in 1943. After World War 2, the
steady increase resumed and during
the first quarter of 1980 aluminium
was being produced at an annual rate
of about 15 million tonnes. These fig-
ures are for new or primary metal,
there is also a considerable tonnage of
secondary or re-cycled metal pro-
duced and sold.
The volume of aluminium substan-
tially exceeds the total of all other
non-ferrous metals - not a bad record
for a relative newcomer metallugi-
cally speaking.
The jolt of the energy crisis in the
first half of the 'seventies made its
mark on aluminium's steady progress
and the continuing increases in fossil
energy prices since then have focused
attention on the possible longer term
effects on what is popularly regarded
as an 'energy intensive' material.
In the energy context aluminium,
or indeed any other material, cannot
be viewed in isolation. It is not logical
to think of a metal in terms only of the
energy consumed in its smelting and
manufacture. We must think of its
energy lifetime. There are three
criteria:-
(a) Energy consumed transforming
raw to finished material.
(b) Energy savings possible through
material use.
(c) Energy content of the material
itself.
In finished form, aluminium
becomes an energy store. It does not
deteriorate with time (like a battery
not kept on charge), but retains the
full amount of energy used in its crea-
tion.
Aluminium can conserve energy
when used to fabricate other pro-
ducts.
The material is virtually indis-
pensable in transportation, packag-
ing, electrical transmission and in
product areas which require good
thermal or electrical conductivity,
good low temperature properties and
good corrosion resistance. In such
applications, the metal can generate
further substantial energy savings.
Aluminium is very easy and inex-
pensive to recycle. It requires only
five percent of the energy used to cre-
The long-life metal with
a built-in energy bonus
DECEMBER 1980 13
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