Aluminum processing Smelting, Refining, Alloying | Britannica
Smelting. Part of a modern potline based on the electrolytic HallHéroult smelting process. Although there are several methods of producing aluminum, only one is used commercially. The Deville process, which involves direct reaction of metallic sodium with aluminum chloride, was the basis of aluminum production in the late 19th century, but it ...