[TheForge] Aluminum vs. Aluminium

[Robert Oppenheimer]

Thank you Dave. I saw the "aluminum" powder was listed as "atomized" but 
didn't quite understand that until your reply.

Then, in the cartoon world (Ruff and Reddy), there was the planet 
Munimula (Aluminum, spelled backwards)


On 9/25/2017 5:44 PM, Dave Smucker wrote:
> Most of that powdered aluminum was made from pure aluminum and not the alloys in cans - still a lot of metal.  The powder is made by  blowing the molten aluminum with compressed gas - I don't remember if it is CO2 or N2. It is a very dangerous process and ALCOA built a plant in Brazil near a smelter that was designed to run with no folks present during the powder production.  The powder is highly reactive with water and will strip the O2 leaving dangerous levels of hydrogen.  Al powder is also used in metallic paints and mix with iron powder to make thermite.
> That should start a new thermite thread here.
>
> The old process to make aluminum "powder" was to take the side scrap from rolling foil and run it through a wet (oil) hammer mill process to make flake.  This is what was first used in paints and some for paints may still be made his way.
>
> Dave Smucker
> Brasstown, NC