Aluminium is everywhere; 41m tonnes are smelted every year and much more again is recycled. It is used in a wide range of things from aircraft to motor cars, construction to kitchen utensils, packaging to the manufacture of glass. Where would we be without it? Fortunately, we are not going to be without it because the ore forms 8% of the earth’s crust while it can be recycled over and over again at minimal energy cost and with no loss of properties.
As a lightweight metal with a good deal of strength it is beyond compare. It is reflective, non toxic and ideal in the electrical industry because of its conductive properties. Even though it was used in ancient times it was not until towards the end of the 19th Century when the discovery of a good smelting process opened up the metal to widespread use.
Main uses
If you had to pick out some primary uses the top of the list would probably be transport, packaging and construction. Aluminium composite materials are ideal in construction; the aluminium can transformed the drinks industry with an obvious environmental benefit at the same time. Glass and plastic each have different issues regarding their use. The jet planes that speed across the sky every second of the day use an enormous amount of aluminium in their construction.
The growth of the Chinese economy has meant not unnaturally that China is amongst the world’s leading producers yet the local cost of recycling has meant that environmentalists continue to encourage people to be aware of the contribution they can make as individuals by ensuring that all their aluminium is recycled.
Transport
Alloys are used to make the most of aluminium’s non corrosive properties and its strength to increase those same properties depending on the products being manufactured. In the aircraft industry aluminium makes up as much as 70% of the weight of an aircraft.
Food and drink
In the food and drinks industry aluminium is vital; cans and foil are two obvious reasons why up to 20% of all aluminium production is used in this industry.
Construction
Corrosion is a constant problem in the construction industry and aluminium is often the answer. The construction industry therefore takes almost as much of the aluminium production as the packaging industry. This is in the form of composite sheets, frames for doors and windows, doors themselves, roofs and guttering. A maintenance free construction is of obvious benefit in terms of time and money and it is effectively maintenance free because it does not need painting, not even once unlike structures made of steel where the exercise may be little short of continuous.
There are far more uses for aluminium but this is enough to give an illustration that we would be lost without it.
If you are in need of aluminium composite materials there are companies that can supply you to the highest standard and exactly to your specification. You need only to make contact to discuss your requirements and get a no obligation quotation.
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