Introduction

Background
Aluminium is the third most abundant element on the Earths crust but it was not
discovered until the 19th century. This is because aluminium never occurs naturally in
metallic form since it has a strong affinity to oxygen. Refining aluminium was
difficult before the 19th century making it a very rare metal to obtain. This elusiveness
made people consider aluminium to be more precious than gold and silver. The
history of aluminium's development is a unique tale. Little was known of aluminium
at the beginning however it became the most popular structural material in just a
century of existence. Aluminums usefulness is so undeniable that future historians
may look back and declare our time as The Age of Aluminum.
Development History of Aluminium
1807-1808
The name aluminium was proposed by Humphry Davy inspired by the word alum
which is called alumen in Latin. Davy, however, unsuccessfully tried to produce
aluminium by electrolysing a fused mixture of aluminium oxide and potash.
1825
Hans Christian Oersted is acknowledged to be the first person to prepare metallic
aluminium. He accomplished this by heating anhydrous aluminium chloride with
potassium amalgam and distilling off the mercury. However, the result was an
aluminium alloy rather than a pure aluminium.
1845
Frederick Whler in Germany improved the process between 1827 and 1845 by
substituting potassium for the amalgam and by developing a better method for
dehydrating aluminium. Small balls of solidified molten aluminium (globules) were
created. Whler also established many of the aluminiums properties, including its
remarkable lightness. It was the discovery of this very property that invigorated
researchers and opened more doors for generous development funding.
1854
Henri Sainte-Claire Deville substituted sodium in the place of the relatively expensive
potassium and, by using sodium aluminium chloride instead of aluminium chloride.
This allowed the production of the first industrial aluminium and his process was
copied throughout Europe. Scientists were now in the position to produce kilograms
rather than mere grams which paved the way for the industrial use of aluminium.

1886
The smelting process that is still used today was discovered and patented almost
simultaneously but independently in the United States by Charles Hall and in France
by Paul Hroult. The method involved the reduction of molten aluminium oxide in
cryolite and decomposing electrolytically. This reduction method has successfully
withstood many attempts to supersede it; it remains the only method to produce
aluminium in commercial quantities. However, the large amount of electricity
required to power the electrolytic process limited the production of aluminium.
1888
The success of the Hall-Hroult process was advanced by Karl Bayer. Bayer invented
and improved process for making aluminium oxide (alumina) from bauxite. Bayer
added bauxite into an alkali solution and heated it in a closed vessel finding that the
bauxite did not dissolve completely and that the entirety of the aluminium in the
bauxite was transferred to the alkali solution during the process. These inventions
transformed aluminium into a commercial commodity. Both the Bayer and HallHerout processes are still used today to produce nearly all the worlds aluminium.
1890
The cost of aluminium had tumbled some 80 percent from Devilles prices making the
metal easily marketable. Despite this, selling the output was difficult as the
manufacturing industry was used to more traditional metals and needed to acquire
skills to produce products made out of aluminium.
1920
A group of scientists under the leadership of Soderberg in Norway found a way to
make the Hall-Hroult method much cheaper. Soderberg process uses a continuous
electrode (formed in a special reduction chamber from a coke and tar paste) instead of
pre-baked coal blocks as these blocks were consumed quickly and needed to be
replaced constantly. The Soderberg process was immediately adapted in aluminium
production throughout the world and resulted in an output increase. This process also
reduced resin emissions and power consumption.
Today
Soderberg process is being continuously improved to increase environmental and
economic efficiency. The same can be said about the development of the inert anode
and cell operating capacity to increase in terms of amperage.