By Genevieve Aningo
To the present generation, it’s almost impossible; to consider that there was a time when beverages were not packaged in aluminium cans or any of the common packages seen in today’s society. If they were not available, what was then used to package beverages?
Fresh leaves or clay containers? Perhaps that generation did not have many beverages to quench a thirst or complement a meal as the rite in the present world.
Aluminium cans are part of the various packaging options for beverages in the modern world. They are ubiquitous, lightweight and cheap, as opposed to what it used to be far back in the 19th century when it was invented.
What is Aluminium?
Aluminium is an element found in metal. It is the most abundant metal on the earth making about 8 percent of the earth’s crust. Only oxygen and silicon are greater than aluminium. Aluminium is On the scientific periodic table, aluminium is represented by the symbol A1 and atomic number 13. Aluminium requires extraction because it cannot exist on its own but binds with other natural elements.
The most popular form of aluminium is extracted from the rock bauxite after which it is broken down to aluminium oxide and then refined for the production of packages often as bottles, foils, cans, cutlery etc. However before the 19th century extracting aluminium proved staggering, obscure and costly but the advancement in technology and the discovery of applying electrolysis and smelting processes to obtain the element from metal eased and facilitated the industrialization of aluminium for manufacturing and other intentions.
Rock Bauxite, which contains most aluminium, was discovered in 1821 and Aluminium as an element in metal was discovered in 1782.
The History of Aluminium Can
In the 1700’s, innovators had already been bugged about providing solutions to preserve food for military men since they worked away from home.
In 1975 the Napoleon Bonaparte government intensified this quest and offered 12,000 French Francs to anyone with the solution. This quest was won by Chef Nicholas Appert who developed the canning process in glass bottles.
Appert proffered the idea of submerging meat and poultry in glass bottles, corking them and submerging them in boiling water and this was a respite to preventing perishable consumables for the military men from spoiling. Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, Peter Durand in 1818 introduced the use of metal for canning. so many solutions were invented from the use of pottery, tin plated iron, glass, metal, tin and steel to preserve foods but they had their peculiar limitations such as heavy weighted, corrosive bulky, etc
The journey to the invention of aluminium cans was inspired by the likeness of steel cans by United States soldiers after World War 11 which occurred between 1939 to 1945.
During World War 11 the US servicemen shipped beer in Steel Cans which were already in use but after the War, the soldiers as well as beverage companies and consumers became nostalgic and preferred the beer-packaged steel cans over other packaging. They found the tin-coated steel more advantageous over glass, and metal because they were lighter, convenient, cost-efficient and enhanced one-way shipping reducing freight and fuel expenses.
However, it birthed an environmental menace as consumers littered the cans once after consumption and this led to the ‘Ban the Can’ environmentalist campaign in the 1950s.
Regardless, in 1958 William “Bill” K. Coors under his company Adolph Coors Company in Colorado, US manufactured the first aluminium can for a beverage. The aluminium can was a 7-ounce can that weighed half as much as a tin plate of the same size.
It also had a flat top feature requiring a particular opener to puncture two holes to open.
Likewise, unlike beers stored in steel cans, the aluminium cans got rid of the anxiety of off-putting metallic taste tainting the beer resulting in beer with improved shelf life. Also, the flexible texture of aluminium can enhance the easy opening of the drink using the popular ring pull opener developed by Ermal Fraze to facilitate not just the opening of aluminium cans but other packaging.
This landmark by Adolph Coors company inspired improvement in aluminium can making
In 1963, Schlitz Brewing Company took things a little further and introduced its beer in an aluminium can with its pop top opener eliminating the need of a separate opener and other beverages adopted the style. Notwithstanding the opener posed additional littering for the to solve this con, in 1975, the Reynolds Metals Company introduced the stay on-tab aluminium can, this version is what is still in use today.
Present-day reality of Aluminium Cans
Over the years with the help of better technology and research the process of manufacturing aluminium cans has been modified. Aluminium cans become one of the top choices for packaging beverages.
According to Fact.MR, the global beverage can market is valued at 45 billion US Dollars and is projected to reach 75 US Dollars by the end of 2032.
Manufacturing aluminium cans involves several processes, including preparing or deriving the aluminium from bauxite, rolling, cutting the blank, coating, deep drawing, trimming, cleaning, adding the lid, filling and decoration.
The present aluminium cans for beverage packaging are more efficient than their earlier versions.
The recent versions are stylish, lighter, enhance design, prolong the life shell of beverages, chills easily, are cost-efficient, attractive and easy to recycle.
Aluminium cans are 100 percent recyclable and can be infinitely recycled without losing their quality or properties. The Aluminium Association states that about 75 percent of all aluminium ever produced is still in use. Shredding, de-coating, melting and casting are the processes required to recycle used aluminium cans.
To recycle aluminium cans, the used cans have to be shredded and any detected coloured coating eliminated. This is then melted into a furnace to create a molten metal which is poured into large ingot casts to set. An Ingot can produce around 1.5 million cans.
Based on size types, aluminium cans are segmented into slim, sleek and standard.
