Aluminum in Earth’s Crust
The most plentiful metal discovered on the earth’s crust is aluminum. It ranks as third most present element that comes after silicon and oxygen. The 8% of the total weight of the Earth’s floor is composed of aluminum. It isn’t considered as a free metal since it is too chemically reactive, instead, it is combined in around 270 totally different minerals.
Metal Traits
Aluminum has been extremely popular due to its ability to resist corrosion. It has been recognized to be softyet durable, lightweight, nonmagnetic, non sparkling and said to be insoluble in alcohol. The strength of a pure aluminum metal does not break until 7-11 Mpa.
With these traits of aluminum it’s said to have been massively produced at 31.9 million tonnes last 2005 globally. This most widely used non-ferrous metal has been forecasted to be produced at forty two to forty five million tonnes by the year of 2012. An aluminum materials can be combined with other metals to form a different material.
Industrial Uses
Aluminum metals has been broadly used for transportation, construction, packaging, public utilities such as street lighting poles, household items from consuming to cooking utensils, shells for most digital devices and equipment, power distribution by being used in electrical transmission traces, steels and magnets, high brightness LED lighting, paints and pyrotechnics, and electronics and CDs.
Electrical applications account for 8% usage via cable sheathing, wiring and transmission lines. While 25% consumption is for packaging of drinking cans and foil wraps in frozen foods and plates. The transportation industry uses 34% of aluminum metal for the bodies and mechanical parts of boats, vehicles and planes. 15% of buildings and constructions use aluminum metal via windows, doors and sidings.
Aluminum has been widely used in water treatment because of its efficiency to bind phosphorous which results to great reduction of alum, sludge, and aluminum chlorohydrate.
On top of those common aluminum industrial benefits, it may also be discovered present in medical products. To add up to aluminum metals great use for human kind, 95% of paper and pulp production utilizes alum.
Health Hazard
Being one of the popularly used metal, aluminum has been proven to pose dangers to human health. Higher exposure to aluminum could be detrimental. Health issues can be caused by aluminum consumption by consuming, breathing and pores and skin contact. High concentrations can lead to serious harm to central nervous system, severe trembling, dementia, listlessness, and memory loss.
People who find themselves affected are usually staff where aluminum is incorporated within the production process. Inhalation can lead to serious kidney and lung problems.
Environmental Hazard
The presence of aluminum in lakes has brought on degradation of fishes and amphibians. Plants exposed to more than average alum concentrations especially when absorbed by groundwater, destroys the ground roots and may harm the trees.
Aluminum, just like any other element on earth can definitely be very helpful and are meant to be used by people, however when used excessively and inappropriately can be detrimental to man and even nature.
At present, aluminum material is one of the most demanding aluminum metals as it’s used for numerous purposes. Minerals including aluminum are hard to decompose. The demand for this strong, light and versatile aluminum can be traced back to the first and second world wars.
Tags: Metal