In 1884, a man named Charles Hall wanted to get rich.
He heard his chemistry professor say that whoever discovers
an inexpensive way to get pure aluminum will become
famous and rich.
Earth has more aluminum than any other metal. However,
most of this aluminum is not pure. Pure aluminum does not
exist in nature. It is always combined with other things. Most
aluminum is combined with other minerals in a type of
rock called bauxite.
In 1884, getting pure aluminum out of bauxite was very
expensive. However, Charles Hall started working on a
cheaper way to get pure aluminum. After two years of work,
he succeeded. Hall founded a company that still produces
pure aluminum today. He also became very rich!
Today, aluminum is used for many different purposes.
One common use is to make aluminum foil for storing and
cooking foods. Aluminum is also used to make kitchen
appliances, planes, space shuttles, cars, and soda cans.
More than 100 billion aluminum soda cans are made each
year in the United States alone.
Making all these products takes a lot of aluminum.
Hall made it cheaper to get pure aluminum. However,
aluminum cannot be replaced once it is used. Like all other
minerals on Earth, aluminum is a nonrenewable
resource.
Fortunately, aluminum can be recycled. Recycling
aluminum can help conserve the aluminum on Earth.
For every kilogram of aluminum that is recycled, about
four kilograms of bauxite do not have to be mined.
The less mining we do, the more we preserve our natural
environment.
Recycling aluminum also saves energy that would go into
mining. Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to
run a television set for three hours. Just think of the money
you could save. Maybe you could even get rich, just like
Charles Hall!