The ALUMINUM INDUSTRY

Magic metal of a modern industry

Aluminum had been known about for some time, but the problem was to be able to make the metal in a commercially viable way. Charles M. Hall came to Pittsburgh from Ohio, knowing how to extract aluminum from its source. He got financial support from Captain Alfred Hunt of Pittsburgh, and physical help from Hunt's associate Arthur Vining Davis.

Though it proved difficult to produce in large amounts, aluminum is an extremely valuable metal. It is very lightweight, but also very strong. It is easily recyclable, and can be formed into any shape. Aluminum is not magnetic, but is a good conductor of electricity and reflects heat and light. It is also nontoxic, making it very valuable in packaging foods and medicines. These and other properties of this metal gives it an enormous variety of uses.

While a student at Oberlin College in Ohio, a professor had held a piece of aluminum in his hand and said, "Any person who discovers a process by which aluminum can be made on a commercial scale will bless humanity and make a fortune for himself.Ó Always very interested in chemicals, Hall decided to take up the challenge. Aluminum is found nearly everywhere, but the problem is that it mixes chemically with nearly everything. After graduating in 1885, Hall experimented in a shed behind his family's house, trying to find a way to extract the aluminum from other substances. He finally hit upon the idea of using electrolysis, that is, using electricity to rearrange molecules so that the aluminum separates itself from the other elements.

On Feb. 23, 1886, Hall connected homemade zinc batteries to graphite-rod electrodes and dipped them into a container filled with a solution of aluminum oxide in molten cryolite. He allowed the electric current to cook the mixture for hours, and when he returned, there were several pieces of pure aluminum. He quickly patented the process, and found a group of investors in Pittsburgh headed by Alfred Hunt.

In 1888, the Pittsburgh Reduction Company was begun as an experimental laboratory on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh. On Thanksgiving Day of 1888, Hall and Davis produced the first ingot of aluminum. This new industry was used for a while for jewelry and for pots and pans. But it would not be long before it became an extremely important industrial metal in such places as the automotive and aviation industries.

The price of a pound of aluminum in 1888 was $4.86, which Hall reduced to 78 cents by 1893. In 1907 the expanding company changed its name to The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and, based in Pittsburgh, would remain a world leader in the industry, wiht employees in 40 countries.