Aluminum is a very useful material in a number of things, such as food and drink cans. But before the factories make cans, they need first to convert aluminum into ingots. An ingot is a block of solid aluminum melted by factories to shape it into useful products.
Making ingots can seem complicated, but if you go step by step, it will not be too hard to understand. So, let us start the journey of transforming raw aluminum into ingots and helping canneries.
Step 1: Bauxite Mining
Bauxite is the first stage of the way to aluminum. It is a type of rock that contains a lot of aluminum. Large machines dig out bauxite from the earth and carry it into the factory. The workers break the bauxite into smaller pieces before further processing.
Bauxite is not pure aluminum; it contains dirt, iron, and other things we do not want. So, the factory cleans the bauxite and prepares it for the next step.
Step 2: Refining Bauxite into Alumina
In this stage, workers use Bayer’s process to transform bauxite into alumina. Alumina is a whitish powder; it is aluminum with oxygen. The workers remove the extra materials so that only what is necessary is present in it.
This mix of hot water and chemicals separates the alumina, useful to man, from the dirt in bauxite. Preparing the alumina leads to another aspect of the process: aluminum extraction by electricity.
Step 3: Aluminum Extraction through Electricity
At this stage, alumina is pure aluminum. At this stage, workers put the alumina into large containers made of molten cryolite. The cryolite will easily melt alumina so that aluminum may come out.
Electricity moves through the mixture, breaking up alumina into aluminum and oxygen. The aluminum now sinks at the bottom of the mixture in liquid forms. The liquid aluminum obtained is collected and prepared to be cast.
Step 4: Casting Liquid Aluminum into Molds
At the molten stage, when it is still hot, aluminum is poured into molds that will give it the shapes into blocks known as ingots.
In some instances, the workers mix other metals in liquid aluminum to make them stronger, for example, adding magnesium. The aluminum would begin cooling once the mold was full. Slowly, the liquid turns solid and would eventually produce a very good ingot.
Step 5: Cooling of Aluminum Ingots
The ingots are cooled in the factories either by air or by water. If cooled by water, cooling is relatively fast. However, if cooled using air, this process will take more time. This cooling helps in making the aluminum strong through hardening and, hence, is ready for use.
Once cool, the solid ingots are withdrawn from the molds. Now, the shining blocks are all set for cleaning and quality check stations.
Why Do Factories Cool Them with Water or Air?
Factories cool the aluminum ingots with water or air so that the melted metal solidifies into a block. Cooling helps make the aluminum rigid and ready for further use. Water cools the ingots very fast, and it flows over the hot ingots, lowering the temperature quickly.
Air cooling takes more time but prevents cracks and defects. Both processes guarantee proper cooling of the ingots, depending upon the type of aluminum and its application.
Step 6: Ingots Cleaning and Testing
Although the ingots are tough, dust particles or tiny cracks may be present on the surface of the ingots. Workers clean the ingots with brushes and chemicals so that the ingots look smooth.
After cleaning, special machines pass the ingots to test whether they have any flaws. If any ingot has cracks or problems, the workers melt it again to correct it. The quality ingots are forwarded.
Step 7: Sending Ingots to Canneries
The factories pack the ingots after passing them through all the tests and send them to the canneries. Once the ingots reach the canneries, the laborers melt the ingots and roll the aluminum sheets.
These sheets form cans, bottle caps, and other food and beverage containers. Aluminum is excellent for cans since it is light, strong, and does not rust.
Step 8: Smelting and Rolling Sheets of Aluminum
Inside the cannery, these ingots melt once more in large ovens. Employees pour the melted aluminum into rolling machines that flatten them into thin sheets.
The machines roll the aluminum over and over on top of itself so that it is rolled out thinly enough. Now, they are ready for the final stages of packaging, designing the logos or information and filling the food or drinks.
Step 9: Shaping Cans, Applying Labels
It stamps them into a cam shape after rolling them. The cans are very light, and you can use them to store liquids such as soda and juice.
You can print other cans with logos and information on what is inside the can. The bright colors with the logos make the cans noticeable on the shelves of any store. After giving shape and printing the cans, the factories stack and put them to fill up the food or drinks inside the cans.
Step 10: Recycling Used Cans
The good thing about aluminum is that you can recycle it thousands of times. The factories ship back the used cans and melt them all over again. They then shape ingots out of them again.
Recycling saves quite a lot of energy since this process requires less work with melting old aluminum and making some new aluminum from the bauxite. Industries love recycling because it ensures our planet and makes this earth less waste.
Conclusion
This makes raw ingot aluminum cannery over a long time, particularly for canneries. The first step is the fact that the factories dig the bauxite on the ground. They then make alumina and extract the aluminum from it, which is shaped into solid ingots; the ingots travel to the canneries, where they melt to form cans.
These aluminum cans are very light, strong, and recyclable. Recycling saves energy for us and the earth, too. Now you know how these aluminum ingots help to make those cans in our daily use!
