Manufacturing apparatus of electrode active material slurry for secondary battery and manufacturing method of electrode active material slurry for secondary battery

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery, A nozzle through which an active material and a low-reactivity ball with a diameter larger than that of the active material are introduced and discharged, and It includes a filter screen formed at the lower part of the nozzle, which is larger in size than the discharge port of the nozzle and includes a plurality of through holes. The above nozzle is formed with a tapered structure in which the diameter decreases according to the insertion direction, and The present invention provides an electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein a plurality of through holes of the filter screen have a diameter larger than the diameter of the active material and smaller than the diameter of the low-reactivity ball so that only the active material is fed into the mixer.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an active material slurry for a secondary battery and a method for manufacturing an active material slurry for a secondary battery. Background Technology

[0002] Due to the rapid increase in the use of fossil fuels, there is a growing demand for alternative and clean energy. As part of this effort, the fields of power generation and energy storage utilizing electrochemistry are the most actively researched.

[0003] Currently, a representative example of an electrochemical device utilizing such electrochemical energy is the secondary battery, and its scope of application is steadily expanding.

[0004] Recently, as technology development and demand for portable devices such as portable computers, mobile phones, and cameras have increased, the demand for secondary batteries as an energy source has been rapidly increasing. Among these, a lot of research has been done on lithium secondary batteries, which exhibit high energy density and operating potential, long cycle life, and low self-discharge rate, and they have also been commercialized and are widely used.

[0005] Furthermore, as interest in environmental issues grows, extensive research is being conducted on electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles to replace fossil fuel-powered vehicles, such as gasoline and diesel cars, which are major causes of air pollution. While nickel-metal hydride batteries are primarily used as power sources for these electric and hybrid vehicles, research utilizing lithium-ion batteries, which offer high energy density and discharge voltage, is actively underway and is already in the commercialization stage.

[0006] Such a lithium secondary battery is manufactured by forming an electrode composite layer by coating a positive or negative active material, a binder, and a conductive material onto a current collector in the form of an electrode slurry and drying it to produce a positive electrode and a negative electrode, and by embedding an electrode assembly, which has a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, together with an electrolyte, into a battery case.

[0007] At this time, in order to manufacture the electrode slurry, the active material, conductive material, and binder are introduced into a mixer through a nozzle and stirred.

[0008] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a part of an electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus (10) to show a configuration in which an active material is fed into a mixer through a nozzle to manufacture an electrode slurry.

[0009] Referring to FIG. 1, the active material (11a) is introduced into the mixer (12) through the nozzle (11).

[0010] However, in this case, as the active material (11a) clumps together in the nozzle, a blockage occurs, and as a result, not only is the process delayed, but the problem of this blockage is also solved by the operator manually hammering, which is very inefficient.

[0011] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop electrode slurry manufacturing technology that can solve these problems and prevent clumping of active materials when the active materials are fed into a mixer. The problem to be solved

[0012] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problem and to provide an electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing the same that can prevent clumping of active material when an active material is introduced to manufacture an electrode slurry. means of solving the problem

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery comprises:

[0014] A nozzle through which an active material and a low-reactivity ball with a diameter larger than that of the active material are introduced and discharged, and

[0015] It includes a filter screen formed at the lower part of the nozzle, which is larger in size than the discharge port of the nozzle and includes a plurality of through holes.

[0016] The above nozzle is formed with a tapered structure in which the diameter decreases according to the insertion direction, and

[0017] The plurality of through holes of the above-mentioned filter screen are characterized by having a diameter larger than the diameter of the active material and smaller than the diameter of the low-reactivity ball, so that only the active material is fed into the mixer.

[0018] In one specific example, the filter screen is formed to have an inclined surface so that low-reactivity balls discharged from the bottom of the nozzle can be removed to the outside.

[0019] In one specific example, the diameter of the low-reactivity ball may be larger than the diameter of the plurality of through holes and smaller than the diameter of the nozzle's outlet. The low-reactivity ball may be an inorganic ball, and more specifically, may be one or more balls selected from the group consisting of Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, ZnO, SiC, BN, Si3N4, and WO.

[0020] In addition, the low-reactivity ball may have a higher density than the active material.

[0021] Meanwhile, a method for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery using the manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is,

[0022] (a) A process of introducing an active material and a low-reactivity ball having a larger diameter and density than the active material together through a nozzle for introducing an active material into a mixer of the above-mentioned manufacturing device;

[0023] (b) a process in which only the active material that has passed through the nozzle is fed into the mixer by means of a filter screen formed at the lower part of the nozzle; and

[0024] (c) A process of mixing the active material with a binder and a conductive material in the above mixer;

[0025] It is characterized by including

[0026] In one specific example, the strainer has a slope, and the low-reactivity balls can be discharged to the outside by the slope of the strainer. Effects of the invention

[0027] According to the present invention, after introducing low-reactivity balls with a diameter larger than that of the active material together with the active material, the active material is allowed to enter only into the mixer and the low-reactivity balls are discharged to the outside by means of a filter screen, thereby preventing clumping of the active materials by the low-reactivity balls.

[0028] In addition, by making the density of the low-reactivity balls greater than that of the active material, even if clumping occurs between the active materials and causes clogging of the nozzle, the clogging can be efficiently resolved as the low-reactivity balls pass through the clumped active material. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of a conventional electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a part of an electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of A in Figure 2. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0030] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail to aid in understanding the invention.

[0031] Terms and words used in this specification and claims shall not be interpreted as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but shall be interpreted in a meaning and concept consistent with the technical spirit of the invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the terms to best describe his invention.

[0032] The terms used herein are merely for describing exemplary embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0033] In this specification, terms such as “comprising,” “comprising,” or “having” are intended to specify the existence of the implemented features, numbers, steps, components, or combinations thereof, and should not be understood as precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, components, or combinations thereof.

[0035] According to one embodiment of the present invention,

[0036] As an apparatus for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery,

[0037] A nozzle through which an active material and a low-reactivity ball with a diameter larger than that of the active material are introduced and discharged, and

[0038] It includes a filter screen formed at the lower part of the nozzle, which is larger in size than the discharge port of the nozzle and includes a plurality of through holes.

[0039] The above nozzle is formed with a tapered structure in which the diameter decreases according to the insertion direction, and

[0040] An electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus is provided, wherein the plurality of through holes of the filter screen have a diameter larger than the diameter of the active material and smaller than the diameter of the low-reactivity ball, so that only the active material is fed into the mixer.

[0042] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a part of an electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 illustrates an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 2.

[0043] Hereinafter, an apparatus for manufacturing an electrode assembly according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and FIGS. 3 below.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 together, the apparatus (100) for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery according to the present embodiment includes a nozzle (110) into which an active material (111) and a low-reactivity ball (112) having a diameter (R) larger than that of the active material (111) are introduced and discharged, and a filter screen (120) formed at the bottom of the nozzle (110), having a size larger than the discharge port of the nozzle (110), and including a plurality of through holes (121).

[0045] At this time, the nozzle (110) is formed with a tapered structure in which the diameter decreases (W->W') according to the direction of insertion (arrow).

[0046] Therefore, in the past, as the active material (111) passed through the nozzle (110), clumping and clogging mainly occurred in the section where the diameter decreased (W->W'). However, according to the present invention, by introducing a low-reactivity ball (112) having a diameter (R) larger than the diameter (r) of the active material (111) together with the active material (111), the low-reactivity ball (120) with a large diameter (R) is interposed between the active materials (111), thereby preventing particle clumping between the active materials (111) and making it easy to pass smoothly without clogging even in a tapered nozzle (110).

[0047] Meanwhile, the filter screen (120) is not limited to a specific material, but may be made of, for example, a polymer or a metal, and specifically, may be made of the same material as the nozzle. This filter screen (120) is formed to prevent low-reactivity balls (112) from being introduced into the mixer (130) so as not to be included in the electrode slurry. At this time, the active material (111) is introduced into the mixer (130) through the plurality of through holes (121) of the filter screen (120), and the low-reactivity balls (112) are prevented from passing through the through holes (121), thereby preventing the low-reactivity balls (112) from entering the mixer (130).

[0048] Accordingly, the plurality of through holes (121) of the filter screen (120) have a diameter (d) that is larger than the diameter (r) of the active material (111) and smaller than the diameter (R) of the low-reactivity ball (112).

[0049] At this time, specifically, the diameter (R) of the low-reactivity ball (112) should be larger than the diameter (d) of the plurality of through holes (121) and smaller than the diameter of the outlet of the nozzle (110).

[0050] If the diameter (R) of the low-reactivity ball (112) is too small, there is little difference from the diameter (r) of the active material (111), so the low-reactivity ball (112) may enter the mixer (130) that produces the actual electrode active material slurry, which may cause problems, and if it is too large, the low-reactivity ball (112) may clog the nozzle (110), which is undesirable.

[0051] Accordingly, the diameter (d) of the plurality of through holes (121) of the filter screen (120) has a value between the diameter (r) of the active material (111) and the diameter (R) of the low-reactivity ball (112).

[0052] Meanwhile, since the filter screen (120) serves to prevent low-reactivity balls (112) from passing through the through holes (121), low-reactivity balls (112) may accumulate at the bottom of the nozzle (110). Therefore, in order to further prevent the discharge opening of the nozzle (110) from being blocked by low-reactivity balls (112), the filter screen (120) may be formed to have an inclined surface.

[0053] Accordingly, the low-reactivity balls (112) discharged from the bottom of the nozzle (110) can be removed by flowing along the inclined surface.

[0054] In this case, the low-reactivity balls (112) are also introduced into the nozzle (110) and can be removed as they pass through the nozzle (110), thereby preventing the intervention of the low-reactivity balls (112) that have finished their role.

[0055] At this time, the angle of inclination (a) is not significantly limited, but it may be 10 to 45 degrees, more specifically 10 to 30 degrees, and even more specifically 20 to 30 degrees, so as to help smoothly discharge the low-reactivity ball (112) and so as not to cause the gap between the discharge port at the bottom of the nozzle (110) and the mixer (130) to be too large.

[0056] Below, the low-reactivity ball (112) and active material (111) are described in more detail.

[0057] The above low-reactivity ball (112) is not significantly limited as long as it is a chemically stable ball, but in detail, it may be an inorganic ball, and more specifically, a ceramic ball.

[0058] For example, the low-reactivity ball (112) is BaTiO3, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3(PZT), Pb 1-x La x Zr 1-y Ti y O3(PLZT), PB(Mg3Nb 2 / 3 )O3-PbTiO3(PMN-PT) hafnia (H f It may be O2), SrTiO3, SnO2, CeO2, MgO, NiO, CaO, ZnO, ZrO2, Y2O3, Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, TiO2, SiC, BN, Si3N4, WO, or a mixture thereof, and more specifically, it may be one or more balls selected from the group consisting of Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, ZnO, SiC, BN, Si3N4, and WO.

[0059] Meanwhile, it is more preferable that the low-reactivity ball (112) has a higher density than the active material (111), and in detail, the density of the low-reactivity ball (112) may be 1.1 to 3 times the density of the active material (111), and in detail, 1.5 to 2 times.

[0060] In this way, if the density of the low-reactivity ball (112) is greater than the density of the active material (111), even if the nozzle (110) is clogged by the active material before or during injection, the low-reactivity ball (112) with a greater density can penetrate the active material (111), thus making it more efficient for preventing the nozzle (110) from clogging.

[0061] Therefore, if the density of the low-reactivity ball (112) is too high outside the above range, the low-reactivity ball (112) falls too fast and cannot effectively prevent the clumping of the active material (111), and if it is too low, there is insufficient force to penetrate the nozzle (110) when the active material (111) blocks it, making it difficult to achieve the above effect.

[0062] Meanwhile, the above active material (111) may be a positive active material or a negative active material, and more specifically, since this clogging phenomenon mainly occurs when a positive active material is introduced for the manufacture of a positive slurry, it may be a positive active material.

[0063] The above positive and negative active materials can be applied without limitation as long as they have a composition conventionally known in the art.

[0065] In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention,

[0066] A method for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery using the above-described manufacturing apparatus,

[0067] (a) A process of introducing an active material and a low-reactivity ball with a diameter larger than that of the active material together through a nozzle for introducing an active material into a mixer of the above-mentioned manufacturing device;

[0068] (b) a process in which only the active material that has passed through the nozzle is fed into the mixer by means of a filter screen formed at the lower part of the nozzle; and

[0069] (c) A process of mixing the active material with a binder and a conductive material in the above mixer;

[0070] A method for manufacturing an electrode slurry including is provided.

[0071] The specific details are as explained above.

[0072] In addition, as described above, the strainer has a slope, and therefore, the low-reactivity balls can be discharged to the outside by the slope of the strainer.

[0073] Furthermore, to enhance the effect of the present invention, the density of the low-reactivity ball may be greater than the density of the active material, and the details are as described above.

[0074] In addition, in the above manufacturing method, the active material and the low-reactivity ball may be introduced in a ratio of 1:10 to 1:100 based on volume, specifically in a ratio of 1:10 to 1:50, and more specifically in a ratio of 1:10 to 1:20 of the active material.

[0075] If the low-reactivity balls are introduced in an excessive amount outside the above range, the process time increases and it becomes inefficient, and if they are introduced in an excessive amount, it is not desirable as it cannot effectively prevent clumping between particles of the active material.

[0076] Meanwhile, the active material introduced into the mixer by means of a filter screen is mixed together with a binder and a conductive material, and the binder and conductive material are also not limited to conventionally known compositions and are included in the composition of the present invention. Explanation of the symbols

[0078] 100: Electrode slurry manufacturing device 110: Nozzle 111: Active substance 112: Low-reactivity ball 120: Strainer 121: Multiple penetration holes 130: Mixer

Claims

Claim 1 An apparatus for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery, comprising: a nozzle into which an active material and a low-reactivity ball with a diameter larger than that of the active material are introduced and discharged; and a filter screen formed at the lower part of the nozzle, having a size larger than the discharge port of the nozzle and including a plurality of through holes, wherein the nozzle is formed with a tapered structure in which the diameter decreases according to the direction of introduction, and the plurality of through holes of the filter screen have a diameter larger than that of the active material and smaller than that of the low-reactivity ball so that only the active material is introduced into a mixer, and the low-reactivity ball has a density greater than that of the active material. Claim 2 An electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter screen is formed to have an inclined surface so that low-reactivity balls discharged from the bottom of the nozzle are removed to the outside. Claim 3 An electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the low-reactivity ball is larger than the diameter of the plurality of through holes and smaller than the diameter of the nozzle outlet. Claim 4 In claim 1, the electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus wherein the low-reactivity ball is an inorganic ball. Claim 5 An electrode slurry manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the low-reactivity ball is one or more balls selected from the group consisting of Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, ZnO, SiC, BN, Si3N4, and WO. Claim 6 delete Claim 7 A method for manufacturing an electrode slurry for a secondary battery using a manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: (a) a process of introducing an active material and a low-reactivity ball having a diameter larger than that of the active material together through a nozzle for introducing the active material into a mixer of the manufacturing apparatus; (b) a process of introducing only the active material that has passed through the nozzle into the mixer by means of a filter screen formed at the bottom of the nozzle; and (c) a process of mixing the active material with a binder and a conductive material in the mixer; wherein the density of the low-reactivity ball is greater than the density of the active material. Claim 8 A method for manufacturing an electrode slurry according to claim 7, wherein the filter screen has an incline, and the low-reactivity balls are discharged to the outside by the incline of the filter screen. Claim 9 delete

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