Why is foil made from aluminium

Alufoil comprehensively conquered the packaging market for butter and cheese. At the time a reviewer of the sector wrote: "More so than in any other sector, foil keeps highly sensitive products, especially butter and cheese fresh longer. It is an unrivalled and indispensable aid in the battle against deterioration. Alufoil was first proposed as a packaging material for butter at the World's Dairy Congress in Berlin. Results of studies revealed that alufoil allowed butter to stay fresher for two-three months longer than previously used materials.

In Europe, the first alufoil food containers were used for bakery products appearing on the market, soon followed by a variety of other foodstuffs. Packed in compartmented aluminium trays the idea soon spread to Europe. But it was not only consumer packaging that benefited, semi-rigid alufoil was also in use for technical applications such as industrial products including fats, waxes and adhesive compounds.

Thin alufoil was used in conjunction with paper and PE to create a laminate for aseptic cartons TetraBrik. Originally conceived for use with UHT milk, the alufoil laminated carton has now established itself for applications including fruit juices, soups, yoghurt drinks and much more.

Greatly assisting the growth of alufoil was the formation of the European Aluminium Foil Association which has been instrumental in spreading the message to a wide audience, and growing its success into the 21st century.

The aluminum Christmas tree debuted—complete with foil-covered branches and decorations. Aluminum foil has a shiny side and a matte side. The shiny side is produced when the aluminum is rolled during the final pass. It is difficult to produce rollers with a gap fine enough to roll a single sheet of foil.

For the final pass, two sheets are rolled at the same time, doubling the thickness of the roll. When the sheets are later separated, the two inside surfaces are matte, and the two outside surfaces are shiny. Aluminum foil is also used to make aseptic packaging. This type of packaging enables storage of perishable goods without refrigeration. If you do not agree with our use of cookies, please change the current settings found in our Cookie Policy. Otherwise, you agree to the use of the cookies as they are currently set.

Skip to main content. Remember me. Request new password. Search form Search. The Aluminum Advantage. Aluminum Advantage. Product Markets. Members Area. Buyer's Guide. Quick Read The origin of aluminum foil can be traced by to the early s. Take-Away Facts An early commercial use of aluminum foil One of the first commercial uses of aluminum foil came in Foil leg bands were used to identify racing pigeons.

Billions of containers are produced each year Approximately 7 billion aluminum foil containers are produced annually. This production rate nets to containers produced every second.

How aluminum foil is made Aluminum foil is produced by rolling aluminum slabs cast from molten aluminum in a rolling mill to the desired thickness. Then, the resultant aluminum oxide is smelted to produce pure aluminum.

After that, the aluminum is rolled to produce foil. In addition to in-process control of such parameters as temperature and time, the finished foil product must meet certain requirements. For instance, different converting processes and end uses have been found to require varying degrees of dryness on the foil surface for satisfactory performance.

A wettability test is used to determine the dryness. In this test, different solutions of ethyl alcohol in distilled water, in increments of ten percent by volume, are poured in a uniform stream onto the foil surface. If no drops form, the wettability is zero. The process is continued until it is determined what minimum percent of alcohol solution will completely wet the foil surface. Other important properties are thickness and tensile strength. Thickness is determined by weighing a sample and measuring its area, and then dividing the weight by the product of the area times the alloy density.

Tension testing of foil must be carefully controlled because test results can be affected by rough edges and the presence of small defects, as well as other variables. The sample is placed in a grip and a tensile or pulling force is applied until fracture of the sample occurs. The force or strength required to break the sample is measured. The popularity of aluminum foil, especially for flexible packaging, will continue to grow.

Four-sided, fin-sealed pouches have gained wide popularity for military, medical, and retail food applications and, in larger sizes, for institutional food service packs. Pouches have also been introduced for packaging 1. In addition, other products continue to be developed for other applications.

The increase in popularity of microwave ovens has resulted in the development of several forms of aluminum-based semi-rigid containers designed specifically for these ovens.

More recently, special cooking foils for barbecuing have been developed. However, even aluminum foil is being scrutinized in regard to its environmental "friendliness.

Aluminum foil already has the advantage of being light and small, which helps reduce its contribution to the solid waste stream. For packaging waste, the most promising solution may be source reduction. For instance, packaging 65 pounds Such packaging also takes up less space in the landfill.

The Aluminum Association's Foil Division is even developing an educational program on aluminum foil for universities and professional packaging designers in order to help inform such designers of the benefits of switching to flexible packaging. Aluminum foil also uses less energy during both manufacturing and distribution, with in-plant scrap being recycled. In fact, recycled aluminum, including cans and foil, accounts for over 30 percent of the industry's yearly supply of metal.

This number has been increasing for several years and is expected to continue. In addition, processes used during foil manufacturing are being improved to reduce air pollution and hazardous waste. The Aluminum Association.