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Aluminum has a low abundance in the biosphere but can be found in all organisms. [1] Humans, animals, and plants accumulate aluminum throughout their lives as it cycled throughout the food chain. There is no evidence to support aluminum being essential to humans or in any other forms of life. [1] It causes no harm or good unless over-consumed. [1]
Despite its prevalence in the environment, no living organism is known to metabolize aluminium salts, but this aluminium is well tolerated by plants and animals. Because of the abundance of these salts, the potential for a biological role for them is of interest, and studies are ongoing.
Aluminium (or aluminum) metal is very rare in native form, and the process to refine it from ores is complex, so for most of human history it was unknown. However, the compound alum has been known since the 5th century BCE and was used extensively by the ancients for dyeing .
Achieving a very high purity for use as semi-conductor would be challenging, especially in the lunar environment. [1] Converting silica into silicon is an energy-intensive process. On earth this is usually done via carbothermic reduction , a process that requires carbon, an element in comparatively short supply on the moon.
Aluminum warrants special mention because it is the most abundant metal and the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust; [3] despite this, it is not essential for life. With this sole exception, the eight most highly abundant elements in the Earth's crust , making up over 90% of the crustal mass, [ 3 ] are also essential for life.
A relatively non-toxic metal to humans and the second most abundant, the body has 2-3 grams of zinc. [1] It can enter the body through inhalation, skin absorption, and ingestion, [5] with the latter of the bunch being the most common. The mucosal cells of the digestive tract contain metallothionein proteins that store the zinc ions. [1]
Exposure can be from a source of radiation external to the human body or due to internal irradiation caused by the ingestion of radioactive contamination. Ionizing radiation is widely used in industry and medicine, and can present a significant health hazard by causing microscopic damage to living tissue.
Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process.Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery.