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why is aluminum more expensive than steel? - lolitahe69 - 11-25-2021
Knowing that aluminum is a common element, why is it more expensive than steel?
Aluminium is a metal which is always found in the form of compounds minerals and ores. It needs to be extracted by a process called "electrolysis" which means to break up substances using electricity.
Electrolysis of aluminium oxide uses a lot of energy (ie- very high temperatures) and a great deal of electricity. It is economically very expensive to extract from ores due to the amount of electricity used up in the extraction process.