as been exploited in the aluminum industry as a way of dissolving aluminum compounds from bauxite while leaving the rest of the ore as a solid. This process is called the Bayer process. (Bowman, 392) Bauxite is a red rocklike material. It consists of aluminum oxide and a wide range of unwanted substances. To produce aluminum metal, the ore first has to be concentrated, thus removing the bulk of the impurities. Then it goes to a refinery, where the pure metal is produced. The partly purified ore of bauxite, called alumina, is still a compound of aluminum and oxygen. To refine this aluminum, the alumina has to be dissolved and the aluminum recovered by electrical means. The process of using electricity to separate a metal from its rock ore is called electrolysis and takes place inside electrolysis cells. The alumina has to be liquified so that the aluminum compound will break apart into electrically charged ions. (Bowman, 394) Aluminum ions have a positive charge and can move through a solution to gather at the negatively charged electrode of the cell. Each cell uses a mere four to six volts. However, the current that flows sometimes has as much as 150,000 amps. (Walker, 37) Aluminum is the most reactive metal in common use. All metals more reactive than aluminum (calcium, sodium, etc.) are unstable and need special handling. The reactivity of aluminum has advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it reacts with oxygen from the air, forming a gas tight and invisible oxide layer on its surface that protects the metal from environmental corrosion. On the other hand, being so reactive, the metal is very difficult to separate from its ore, and the costs of manufacture are high. (Geary, 185) Aluminum is of great benefit to the world. Hans Christian had no idea what his life changing discovery would contribute when he separated aluminum from its ore. Today an hour cannot pass that you do not see the benefits aluminum brings to our eve...
