Sustainable Surface Metallurgy for Public Health: A Review of Barrier Degradation, Structural Heterogeneity, and Aluminum Leaching Dynamics in Low-Income Country Cookware

Aluminum (Al) consumer cookware remains a cornerstone of global food preparation due to its exceptional thermal efficiency and low cost. However, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the widespread reliance on low-purity, informally recycled artisanal alloys creates severe public health risks due to heavy metal migration into dietary pathways. This review explicitly links materials engineering for sustainable development with global safety frameworks by evaluating surface modification technologies designed to mitigate aluminum ion leaching under aggressive thermal and chemical cooking conditions. This review systematically synthesizes the thermodynamic, kinetic, and mechanical performance of three dominant protective systems: electrochemical anodization, sol-gel quasi-ceramic matrices, and fluoropolymer barriers. The chemical stability of these systems is analyzed using mass transport models, chelation-assisted coordination mechanics, and the Arrhenius activation energy framework. Furthermore, a sequential technical characterization workflow is established—linking Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)—to evaluate barrier performance against the strict specific migration limits (SML) enforced by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While hard anodization and ceramic coatings offer excellent thermal stability, their long-term barrier performance is often compromised by interfacial shear stresses driven by mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and mechanical wear. This issue is particularly severe in informal metallurgical sectors. Artisanal castings feature high structural porosity and iron/copper micro-impurities that create localized galvanic micro-cells (Δ E > 1.0 V), accelerating the breakdown of surface oxide barriers and leading to heavy metal migration that routinely exceeds international safety standards by factors of 10 to 50. Critical commercial research gaps are identified, specifically the development of cost-effective, bio-based non-stick barriers (e.g., cross-linked green nanocomposites) and the implementation of decentralized circular economy scrap-sorting upgrades. Resolving these material vulnerabilities is essential for advancing UN Sustainable Development Goals related to good health and well-being (SDG 3), clean manufacturing (SDG 9), and responsible consumption and production (SDG 12). This work provides a clear roadmap for scalable, non-hazardous cookware manufacturing tailored for vulnerable populations.