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Aluminium is made from bauxite, an ore found near the surface of the Earth. It is then taken to a plant which removes the impurities and gives white aluminium oxide or alumina.
The alumina is then electrolysed to give aluminium. This is done by passing electricity through an electrolyte containing a mixture of molten cryolite and alumina (Na3AlF6).
Electrolysis uses a huge steel tank lined with carbon this acts as the cathode (negative electrode) and a large carbon block hangs in the middle of the tank which acts as the anode (positive electrode). The electric current passes through the solution and the molten aluminium oxide sinks to the bottom of the cell where it is collected through an outlet and cast into blocks.
This is a big energy use as the alumina needs to be heated to over 2000degC. Cryolite has a lower melting point than alumina so it acts as a solvent and helps to reduce the temperature of the molten aluminum oxide which allows more energy to be used for the electrolysis process.
Chemically extracted aluminium is used to make all sorts of things like foil, car components and other metals that we see around us. The metal is also used in the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment.
The process of extracting aluminium from bauxite is an expensive one because of the high temperatures that are required. In order to keep costs down, a substance called cryolite is added to the solution to make it less expensive to extract aluminium from the bauxite ore.
