[Sca-cooks] Aluminum

[Terry Decker]

Deville's process started limited production, as would have been necessary 
for aluminum plates, and it would certainly leave the price of aluminum 
metal high.  The basics of the Hall-Heroult process for producing aluminum 
from bauxite were seperately developed by Charles Martin Hall and Paul Louis 
Toussaint Heroult and simultaneously patented by both men in 1886.  Hall's 
Pittsburgh Reduction Company produced the first commercial aluminum on 
Thanksgiving Day 1886.  Andrew Mellon became involved with the Pittsburgh 
Reduction Co. in 1891, taking a piece of the business and financing the 
expansion of the company into Alcoa.  Or so sayeth the quick ref.

Bear

> Yes, and at the time of the discovery, the price of aluminum was through 
> the roof, so it's
> entirely possible that a 'man of influence' like Napo 3 might have had the 
> street cred to obtain a
> service set or two of the precious metal.  However, I wouldn't call 
> Deville's discovery a
> 'practical extraction and production process'.  It wasn't until well into 
> the 1880's that aluminum
> was being produced in 'industrial' quantities, using a process (the name 
> of which escapes me) of
> extraction through molten cryolite (as has been mentioned) and an electric 
> charge.  Funny, I just
> saw a show on this on the History channel a few weeks ago.
>
> I guess we should ask WHICH Napoleon was flashing around Aluminum 
> plates???
>
> William de Grandfort