Aluminium Foil

Aluminium foil is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves, with a thickness less than 0.2 millimetres (8 mils), thinner gauges down to 6 µm (0.2 mils) are also commonly used. In the USA, foils are commonly gauged in mils. Standard household foil is typically 0.016 millimetres (0.6 mils) thick and heavy duty household foil is typically 0.024 millimetres (0.9 mils).The foil is pliable, and can be readily bent or wrapped around objects. Thin foils are fragile and are sometimes laminated to other materials such as plastics or paper to make them more useful. Aluminium foil supplanted tin foil in the mid 20th century.

Annual production of aluminium foil was approximately 800,000 tonnes (880,000 tons) in Europe and 600,000 tonnes (660,000 tons) in the USA in 2003. Approximately 75% of aluminium foil is used for packaging of foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, and 25% used for industrial applications (e.g. thermal insulation, cables and electronics).

In North America, aluminium foil is known as aluminum foil. It was popularized by Reynolds Metals, the leading manufacturer in North America. In the United Kingdom and United States it is, informally, widely called tin foil, for historical reasons. Metallised films are sometimes mistaken for aluminium foil, but are actually polymer films coated with a thin layer of aluminium.