P1020

P1020 is the standard primary aluminum grade traded globally on the London Metal Exchange (LME), with a minimum 99.70% purity. It is the base material for remelting and for manufacturing alloys that require low iron content and minimal trace elements. Typical applications include foundry (remelting base), electrical conductors, and low-iron automotive components.

P1020 contains a minimum of 99.70% aluminum. Its main controlled elements are iron (Fe ≤0.20%) and silicon (Si ≤0.10%), with copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) each limited to ≤0.01% and other elements to ≤0.03% each. The tight control of iron and traces is what defines this grade and makes it suitable for demanding applications.

No. P1020 is near-pure primary aluminum from the 1xxx series and is not heat-treatable; it does not develop strength through aging tempers like T5 or T6. It is a low-strength material (tensile strength 70–80 MPa, yield strength 20–30 MPa) but with very high elongation (40–50%), so it is valued for its purity and conductivity, not for structural strength.

A356.2 requires a very low iron content (Fe ≤0.12%), stricter than most secondary aluminum. P1020, with its Fe ≤0.20% and low trace content, serves as a remelting base material and to dilute the iron present in secondary aluminum down to specification. That is why it is essential for producing A356.2 and other high-purity alloys.

Thanks to its high purity, P1020 offers an electrical conductivity of 62% IACS and a thermal conductivity of 231 W/m·K. These properties make it suitable for electrical conductors, high-voltage cables, and bus bars. In general, the lower the impurity content, the higher the conductivity of aluminum.

Both are 1xxx-series primary aluminum, but P0610 is higher purity (≥99.80%) with stricter trace limits (Fe ≤0.10%, Si ≤0.06%) than P1020 (≥99.70%, Fe ≤0.20%, Si ≤0.10%). Choose P1020 as the LME standard delivery grade for most remelting and high-purity alloys; opt for P0610 only when your trace requirements are stricter than those of P1020.