Editing Aluminium (section)

=== Metal ===
{{See also|Aluminium alloy}}

The global production of aluminium in 2016 was 58.8&nbsp;million metric tons. It exceeded that of any other metal except [[iron]] (1,231&nbsp;million metric tons).<ref name="BGS2018">{{cite book|url=https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/start.cfm?id=3396|title=World Mineral Production: 2012–2016|last1=Brown|first1=T.J.|last2=Idoine|first2=N.E.|last3=Raycraft|first3=E.R.|last4=Shaw|first4=R.A.|last5=Hobbs|first5=S.F.|last6=Everett|first6=P.|last7=Deady|first7=E.A.|last8=Bide|first8=T.|display-authors=3|date=2018|publisher=British Geological Survey|isbn=978-0-85272-882-6|access-date=10 July 2018|archive-date=16 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516174440/https://www.bgs.ac.uk/downloads/directDownload.cfm?id=3396&noexcl=true&t=World%20Mineral%20Production%202012%20to%202016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Aluminum|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/17944/aluminum-Al|access-date=6 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312125740/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/17944/aluminum-Al|archive-date=12 March 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aluminium is almost always alloyed, which markedly improves its mechanical properties, especially when [[tempering (metallurgy)|tempered]]. For example, the common [[aluminium foil]]s and beverage cans are alloys of 92% to 99% aluminium.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Aluminum-Foil.html|title=Aluminum Foil|last1=Millberg|first1=L.S.|website=How Products are Made|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713102210/http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Aluminum-Foil.html|archive-date=13 July 2007|url-status=live|volume=1|access-date=11 August 2007}}</ref> The main [[alloying]] agents for both wrought and cast aluminium are [[copper]], [[zinc]], [[magnesium]], [[manganese]], and [[silicon]] (e.g., [[duralumin]]) with the levels of other metals in a few percent by weight.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry|last1=Sanders|first1=R.E.|last2=Lyle|first2=J.P.|last3=Granger|first3=D.A.|date=2021|publisher=Wiley-VCH|chapter=Aluminum Alloys|doi=10.1002/14356007.a01_481.pub2|title-link=Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry|isbn=978-3-527-30673-2|page=6}}</ref><ref name="ross13">{{cite book
|last1=Ross|first1=R.B.|title=Metallic Materials Specification Handbook|date=2013
|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9781461534822
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v171BwAAQBAJ|access-date=3 June 2021
|archive-date=11 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611060734/https://books.google.com/books?id=v171BwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Drinking can ring-pull tab.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|[[Aluminium can]]]]

The major uses for aluminium are in:{{sfn|Davis|1999|pp=17–24}}
* Transportation ([[automobile]]s, aircraft, [[truck]]s, [[railway car]]s, marine vessels, [[bicycle]]s, spacecraft, ''etc.''). Aluminium is used because of its low density;
* Packaging ([[aluminium can|cans]], foil, frame, etc.). Aluminium is used because it is non-toxic (see [[#Toxicity|below]]), non-[[Adsorption|adsorptive]], and [[splinter]]-proof;
* Building and construction ([[window]]s, [[door]]s, [[Siding (construction)|siding]], building wire, sheathing, roofing, ''etc.''). Since steel is cheaper, aluminium is used when lightness, corrosion resistance, or engineering features are important;
* Electricity-related uses (conductor alloys, motors, and generators, transformers, capacitors, ''etc.''). Aluminium is used because it is relatively cheap, highly conductive, has adequate mechanical strength and low density, and resists corrosion;
* A wide range of [[household]] items, from [[cooking utensil]]s to [[furniture]]. Low density, good appearance, ease of fabrication, and durability are the key factors of aluminium usage;
* Machinery and equipment (processing equipment, pipes, tools). Aluminium is used because of its corrosion resistance, non-[[pyrophoricity]], and mechanical strength.