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Aluminium stockholders have no facility to produce or purify the aluminium; they simply get aluminium almost freely as stockholder for sale purpose from the producers of the rolled or extruded aluminium and aluminium alloy semi-fabricated products and offer to sale to general consumers products for sale only.
The third most common element in the earth's crust at 8% is aluminium; only oxygen and silicon exist in greater percentages. Aluminium is therefore the most common metallic element. It exists in nature as a complex alumino-silicate and the metal is extracted from ores such as bauxite by the production of aluminium oxide, alumina, and hence to metallic aluminium in a primary smelter. For every tone of aluminium produced, two tones of alumina are required which in turn requires four tones of bauxite.
The aluminium characteristics are so attractive to engineers and designers and its alloys are its high strength and light weight, its excellent formability, good corrosion resistance, weld ability and excellent thermal and electrical conductivity.
Aluminium is favorite subject in the eyes of environmentalists as well as end-users because of its excellent recyclability. It can be recycled with an energy of only 5% of that required to produce aluminium through the primary production route. With best technology the act of recycling does not degrade the aluminium and it can be recycled repeatedly with no loss in quality.
Aluminium is a considered as young metal, the commercial production of aluminium was first developed in the year 1886; the world production of primary aluminium is now of the order of 26 million tones. This makes aluminium the most widely used non-ferrous metal. The major markets are in transport, building and construction, packaging and electrical and mechanical engineering.
Enormous energy advantages accumulate in any end use relating transport, whether by land, sea or air. Certainly modern air travel would not be possible without the use of aluminium alloys. The average new car now contains over 100 kg of aluminium alloy. The beverage can have been transformed by the use of aluminium, 70% of all beverage cans are made of aluminium and over one million people are involved in aluminium beverage can recycling schemes. Aluminium is widely used in building and construction in siding, roofing, curtain walling, windows, doors and several other uses.
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