Lactulose production from efficient isomerization of lactose catalyzed by recyclable sodium aluminate.

See more Aluminum products. Aluminum (or Aluminium) (atomic symbol: Al, atomic number: 13) is a Block P, Group 13, Period 3 element with an atomic weight of 26.9815386. It is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust and the most abundant metallic element. Aluminum's name is derived from alumina, the mineral from which Sir Humphrey Davy attempted to refine it from in 1812. Aluminum was first predicted by Antoine Lavoisier 1787 and first isolated by Hans Christian Øersted in 1825. Aluminum is a silvery gray metal that possesses many desirable characteristics. It is light, nonmagnetic and non-sparking. It stands second among metals in the scale of malleability, and sixth in ductility. It is extensively used in many industrial applications where a strong, light, easily constructed material is needed. Although it has only 60% of the electrical conductivity of copper, it is used in electrical transmission lines because of its light weight. Pure aluminum is soft and lacks strength, but alloyed with small amounts of copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese, or other elements, it imparts a variety of useful properties.

See more Sodium products. Sodium (atomic symbol: Na, atomic number: 11) is a Block D, Group 5, Period 4 element with an atomic weight of 22.989769. The number of electrons in each of Sodium's shells is [2, 8, 1] and its electron configuration is [Ne] 3s¹. The sodium atom has a radius of 185.8 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 227 pm. Sodium was discovered and first isolated by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1807. In its elemental form, sodium has a silvery-white metallic appearance. It is the sixth most abundant element, making up 2.6 % of the earth's crust. Sodium does not occur in nature as a free element and must be extracted from its compounds (e.g., feldspars, sodalite, and rock salt). The name Sodium is thought to come from the Arabic word suda, meaning "headache" (due to sodium carbonate's headache-alleviating properties), and its elemental symbol Na comes from natrium, its Latin name.