A low-energy rare earth electrolysis device with adjustable inter-electrode distance

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of rare earth electrolysis equipment, and in particular to a low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable pole distance, comprising: a furnace body, a plurality of anode plates, wherein the plurality of anode plates are arranged in the furnace body and enclosed to form a hollow columnar structure; a cathode rod with a cylindrical structure is vertically inserted in the center of the columnar structure, and the cathode rod is evenly divided into at least two cathode splits along the circumferential direction; a horizontal displacement device can drive the cathode splits to synchronously approach or synchronously move away from the anode plate; by evenly dividing the cathode rod into cathode splits, the cathode splits are adjusted simultaneously according to the consumption of the anode plate by using the same horizontal displacement device, which is simple to operate, has high synchronization, and ensures the accuracy of adjustment; and the cathode splits are diffused outwards to approach the anode plate, which is no longer restricted by its own structure and has a wider adjustment range; at the same time, a pure iron protective layer is used to prevent the tungsten cathode from being consumed by oxidation, thereby further reducing power consumption, improving product quality, reducing production costs, and improving economic benefits.

Description

Technical field:

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of rare earth electrolysis equipment, and in particular to a low-energy consumption rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-electrode distance. Background technology:

[0004] The devices used in the rare earth electrolysis industry are mainly electrolytic cells with upper cathode insertion, and the cathode is a tungsten rod. The main problems faced are high energy consumption and short life of the tungsten cathode. Since the anode of the electrolytic cell is made of graphite, it will be continuously consumed during the electrolysis process, resulting in a continuous increase in the distance between the cathode tungsten rod and the graphite anode, causing the resistance to increase, thereby increasing the cell voltage of the electrolytic cell, reducing the current efficiency, and increasing the power consumption, which is the main reason for the high energy consumption of the electrolytic cell.

[0005] In solving the problem of high energy consumption, there is little research on adjustable pole distance. The national utility model patent with the patent application number of 201420287774.2 is now open: a device for freely adjusting the pole distance of a rare earth electrolytic cell: comprising a table, the table is arranged on the upper part of the electrolytic cell body, a card slot is arranged in the table, and an anode conductive frame is embedded in the card slot; a gantry is arranged on the table on both sides of the card slot, and a pressure plate is arranged on the corresponding gantry, and screw holes for fixing and adjusting the anode conductive frame are evenly arranged on the pressure plate, and a hand-cranked top screw is arranged at the bottom of the anode conductive frame, and the hand-cranked top screw passes through the tail of the card slot. This patent is to adjust the pole distance with the cathode rod by adjusting the outer anode sheet, and the existing thinking is so, because the anode is a hollow structure, which is easy to split design, and the anode is arranged outside, it is easy to add a structure such as the above patent to realize split drive, and the cathode is arranged on the central axis of the anode, and it is not easy to set the drive structure, so the technicians in this field all adjust the pole distance by moving the external anode.

[0006] However, the following defects were found in actual use when adjusting the pole distance by moving the graphite anode:

[0007] 1. During the rare earth electrolysis process, the anode sheet will be continuously consumed, and thin flake reaction products will be attached to the surface. During the movement of the anode sheet, the reaction products will fall due to disturbance, causing the sheet to fall off. This will not only fail to reduce power consumption, but also increase the cost of anode consumption.

[0008] 2. Due to structural limitations, the anode sheet cannot be moved when the four anode sheets are enclosed in a circular structure, and the adjustment distance is limited and cannot be adjusted freely.

[0009] 3. Each anode piece of the device requires a separate driving structure, which is complicated to operate, has poor synchronization, and the adjustment accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

[0010] In summary, the device cannot be promoted and applied in actual production.

[0011] In addition, in rare earth electrolysis, the tungsten cathode rod is often easily oxidized and consumed and becomes thinner at a position about 5 cm above the surface of the molten salt electrolyte, which shortens the service life of the cathode, increases the cathode resistance, increases power consumption, affects the rare earth electrolysis process, and increases the tungsten content of the molten salt, reducing product quality.

[0012] There is a lot of research work on solving the problem of tungsten cathode consumption and extending service life. Rare earth electrolysis enterprises mainly clad protective layers on the cathode or install protective devices. The currently published Chinese patents are:

[0013] CN105986266A-Tungsten cathode laser multi-layer cladding repair method;

[0014] CN113897642A-Tungsten cathode for molten salt electrolysis and its preparation method and use of laser cladding technology;

[0015] CN113897640A-Composition for coating cathode, preparation method, use and preparation method of tungsten cathode;

[0016] CN114606540A-A rare earth metal electrolysis cathode protection method and cathode;

[0017] CN216514181U - An electrolytic rare earth metal tungsten cathode protection sleeve.

[0018] Patent CN105986266A uses laser cladding technology to form a 6-10mm cladding layer of three mixed powders of silicon carbide SiC, palladium Pd, and pure tungsten W at the consumption point of the tungsten cathode to achieve the purpose of repairing the tungsten cathode; Patent CN113897642A and CN113897642A also use laser cladding technology to sequentially clad copper, stainless steel and corrosion-resistant metal composite materials on the surface of the tungsten cathode to form a three-layer cladding protective layer of different materials; Patent CN113897640A mainly uses a two-step spraying technology to spray nickel metal coating and zirconium dioxide metal coating on the cathode surface, but these four patents have complex processing, high technical requirements, high production costs, and after the protective layer is lost, it needs to be remade, which takes a long time and is not easy to promote and apply on a large scale. In addition, patent CN114606540A designs a detachable protective cover for protecting the cathode, but this protective cover has a short life, is easily damaged, has limited protective effect, and the damaged protective cover is easy to enter the electrolytic cell, affecting product quality, and has basically no value for promotion and use. Summary of the invention:

[0020] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a low-energy rare earth electrolysis device with adjustable pole distance, and solves the technical problem that the pole distance with the cathode rod is adjusted by moving the anode sheet, the anode sheet is easy to fall off, the adjustment distance is limited, the operation is complicated, the synchronization is poor, and the adjustment accuracy cannot be guaranteed. In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0021] A low-energy rare earth electrolysis device with adjustable inter-electrode distance, comprising:

[0022] A furnace body and a plurality of anode plates, wherein the plurality of anode plates are arranged in the furnace body and enclosed to form a hollow columnar structure;

[0023] A cathode rod, which is a cylindrical structure and is vertically inserted in the center of the columnar structure, and the cathode rod is evenly divided into at least two cathode parts along the circumferential direction;

[0024] The horizontal displacement device can drive the cathode split to synchronously approach or synchronously move away from the anode plate.

[0025] Furthermore, the horizontal displacement device comprises:

[0026] A slider, which is arranged on the upper end surface of the cathode split body in a fixed structure, a limit block is fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the slider, a cylinder is fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the limit block, and the slider, the limit block and the cylinder are all made of insulating materials;

[0027] A fixed plate, wherein the fixed plate is provided with a first guide groove along the radial direction for the limit block to slide, and the limit block is arranged on the upper end surface of the fixed plate;

[0028] A driving disk and a rotating shaft, wherein the driving disk is arranged above the fixed disk and is rotatably connected to the fixed disk through the rotating shaft; a second guide groove for providing power to the cylinder is provided on the driving disk, and the cylinder can slide in the second guide groove, wherein one end of the second guide groove is close to the center of the driving disk, and the other end of the second guide groove is close to the edge of the driving disk;

[0029] The driving device is used to provide power for the rotation of the driving disc.

[0030] Furthermore, the number of cathode segments is four.

[0031] Furthermore, the slider has a rectangular structure.

[0032] Furthermore, a mounting bracket for fixing the driving device is arranged on the upper part of the fixing plate. The driving device is a reduction motor, and the reduction motor is connected to the rotating shaft in a fixed structural manner.

[0033] Furthermore, a lifting and sliding bracket for supporting the fixed plate is fixedly provided on one side of the fixed plate.

[0034] Furthermore, the lifting and sliding bracket includes an L-shaped bracket, a sleeve, a cylinder, a slide and a guide rail. The upper end of the L-shaped bracket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the fixed plate, the lower part of the L-shaped bracket is sleeved in the sleeve and slidably connected to the sleeve, the slide is fixedly set on the lower end surface of the sleeve, the slide is slidably matched with the guide rail, and the cylinder is set in the sleeve at the upper end of the slide to support the up and down movement of the L-shaped bracket.

[0035] Furthermore, the insulating material is epoxy resin insulating bakelite material.

[0036] Furthermore, a pure iron protective layer is fixedly provided on the outer peripheral wall of the upper end of the cathode split body.

[0037] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: by evenly dividing the cathode rod into cathode parts, the cathode parts are adjusted simultaneously according to the consumption of the anode plate by using the same horizontal displacement device, the operation is simple, the synchronization is high, and the adjustment accuracy is guaranteed; and after the cathode parts are spread outward to be close to the anode plate, they are no longer restricted by their own structure and the adjustment range is wider; at the same time, a pure iron protective layer is used to prevent the tungsten cathode from being consumed by oxidation, thereby further reducing power consumption, improving product quality, reducing production costs, and improving economic benefits. Description of the drawings:

[0039] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the explosion structure of the cathode split, horizontal displacement device and lifting and sliding bracket of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the top view of the cathode split and horizontal displacement device of the present invention.

[0042] In the figure:

[0043] 1. furnace body, 2. anode plate, 3. cathode split, 4. horizontal displacement device, 41. slider, 42. limit block, 43. cylinder, 44. insulating sleeve, 45. fixed plate, 46. first guide groove, 47. driving plate, 48. rotating shaft, 49. second guide groove, 5. driving device, 6. mounting bracket, 71. L-shaped bracket, 72. sleeve, 73. oil cylinder, 74. guide rail, 75. slide seat, 8. pure iron protective layer. Specific implementation method:

[0045] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention will now be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following examples so that the public can better understand the implementation method of the present invention. The specific implementation scheme of the present invention is as follows:

[0046] A low-energy rare earth electrolysis device with adjustable pole distance comprises: a furnace body 1, a plurality of anode plates 2, wherein the plurality of anode plates 2 are arranged in the furnace body 1 and enclosed to form a hollow columnar structure; a cathode rod with a cylindrical structure is vertically inserted in the center of the columnar structure, and the cathode rod is evenly divided into at least two cathode parts 3 along the circumferential direction, which are divided into four in this embodiment, and may be 6, 8, 10 or more in other embodiments, so as to reduce the distance between adjacent cathode parts 3 and reduce the influence on the magnetic field.

[0047] The horizontal displacement device 4 can drive the cathode split body 3 to synchronously approach or synchronously move away from the anode plate 2 .

[0048] Specifically, the horizontal displacement device 4 includes the following structural components:

[0049] The slider 41 is arranged on the upper end surface of the cathode split 3 in a detachable structure. For example, a bolt is fixedly arranged on the lower end surface of the slider 41, and a screw hole matching the bolt is opened on the upper end surface of the cathode split 3 to facilitate the replacement of the cathode split; a limit block 42 is fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the slider 41, and a cylinder 43 is fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the limit block 42. The slider 41, the limit block 42 and the cylinder 43 are all made of insulating materials. In this embodiment, the insulating material is epoxy resin insulating bakelite material.

[0050] The fixed disk 45 is radially provided with a first guide groove 46 for the limit block 42 to slide, and the limit block 42 is arranged on the upper end surface of the fixed disk 45, that is, the cathode split 3 can be hung on the fixed disk 45 through the limit block 42, and slide along the first guide groove 46 through the slider 41, and the slider 41 has a rectangular structure, which ensures that the cathode split 3 can only move axially along the fixed disk 45 and cannot rotate relative to itself.

[0051] The driving disk 47 is arranged above the fixed disk 45, and the driving disk 47 is rotatably connected to the fixed disk 45 through a rotating shaft 48; a second guide groove 49 is opened on the driving disk 47 to provide power for the cylinder 43, and the cylinder 43 can slide in the second guide groove 49, and an insulating sleeve 44 is provided on the outer wall of the cylinder 43 to ensure smooth sliding; one end of the second guide groove 49 is close to the center of the driving disk 47, and the other end of the second guide groove 49 is close to the edge of the driving disk 47; through this structural design, the cathode split 3 can be adjusted at the same time, the operation is simple, and it has high synchronization, which ensures the accuracy of adjustment, improves current efficiency, reduces slot voltage, and reduces power consumption.

[0052] It should be noted that the driving device 5 is used to provide power for the driving disk 47 to rotate. A mounting bracket 6 for fixing the driving device 5 is provided on the upper portion of the fixed disk 45. The driving device 5 is a reduction motor, and the reduction motor is connected to the rotating shaft 48 in a fixed structural manner.

[0053] Furthermore, a lifting and sliding bracket for supporting the fixing plate 45 is fixedly provided on one side of the fixing plate 45 .

[0054] Specifically, the lifting and sliding bracket includes an L-shaped bracket 71, a sleeve 72, a cylinder 73, a slide 75 and a guide rail 74. The upper end of the L-shaped bracket 71 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the fixed plate 45, the lower part of the L-shaped bracket 71 is sleeved in the sleeve 72 and is slidably connected to the sleeve 72, the slide 75 is fixedly set on the lower end surface of the sleeve 72, the slide 75 is slidably matched with the guide rail 74, and the cylinder 73 is set in the sleeve 72 at the upper end of the slide 75, which is used to support the L-shaped bracket 71 to move up and down.

[0055] Furthermore, a pure iron protective layer 8 is fixedly provided on the outer peripheral wall of the upper end of the cathode split body 3. The pure iron protective layer 8 is provided by cleaning the impurities attached to the surface of the cathode rod, heating it to above 700 degrees Celsius, and then evenly applying the pure iron material to the surface of the cathode rod by electric welding, and then naturally cooling it to room temperature to prevent the pure iron protective layer 8 from being welded loosely, which is beneficial to extending the service life of the cathode.

[0056] As another preferred embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the above embodiments, the present invention further defines the cathode rod as a hollow tubular structure, and then the cathode rod is evenly divided into at least two cathode split bodies along the circumferential direction. The cathode split body 3 is a tile-like structure with a thickness ranging from 2 to 10 cm, which is 2 cm in the present embodiment, and 5 cm, 8 cm or 10 cm can also be selected in the actual embodiment; its purpose is to solve another problem that arises while realizing the functions of the above embodiments, which is: the solid cathode rod after being divided is in a plurality of fan-shaped structures. When it moves toward the anode plate 2, the distance between adjacent cathode split bodies 3 gradually increases, so that the two side walls of the cathode split body 3 except the arc wall have an electrolysis reaction with the anode plate 2, and the reaction ions gather between the two cathode split bodies 3. Excessive concentration will disrupt the normal average distribution of power lines, resulting in uneven distribution of the electromagnetic field, affecting the uniform distribution of current intensity, and increasing energy consumption.

[0057] The beneficial effects of this embodiment are as follows: the cathode split 3 has a tile-like structure and a small side wall area, and its influence on the electric field distribution and current intensity distribution can be ignored, so that the electromagnetic field in the electrolytic cell is evenly distributed, which is beneficial to improving current efficiency, reducing cell voltage, reducing power consumption, and greatly saving energy.

[0058] The working principle and working process of the present invention are as follows: push the lifting sliding bracket to make the slide 75 move on the guide rail 74, stop when the cathode rod is located above the furnace body, start the oil cylinder 73 to insert the cathode rod into the furnace body 1 through the L-shaped bracket, and perform electrolysis reaction.

[0059] After a certain reaction time, the reduction motor 5 is started, and the reduction motor 5 drives the driving disk 47 to rotate through the rotating shaft 48, and then the second guide groove 49 of the driving disk 47 gives an outward force to the internal cylinder 43, so that the slider 41 slides along the first guide groove 46, and then drives the cathode split 3 to move toward the anode plate 2 to adjust the pole distance.

[0060] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", "lower left", "upper right", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance. Although the present invention has been described according to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, with the benefit of the above description, should understand that other embodiments can be conceived within the scope of the invention described thereby.

Claims

1. A low-energy rare earth electrolysis device with adjustable inter-electrode distance, characterized in that: include: A furnace body (1) and a plurality of anode plates (2), wherein the plurality of anode plates (2) are arranged in the furnace body (1) and enclosed to form a hollow columnar structure; A cathode rod, which is a cylindrical structure and is vertically inserted in the center of the columnar structure. The cathode rod is evenly divided into at least two cathode parts (3) along the circumferential direction. The cathode parts (3) are in a tile-like structure. The horizontal displacement device (4) can drive the cathode split body (3) to synchronously approach or synchronously move away from the anode plate (2).

2. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 1, characterized in that: The horizontal displacement device (4) comprises: A slider (41), the slider (41) is arranged on the upper end surface of the cathode split body (3) in a detachable structure, a limit block (42) is fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the slider (41), a cylinder (43) is fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the limit block (42), and the slider (41), the limit block (42) and the cylinder (43) are all made of insulating materials; A fixed disk (45), wherein the fixed disk (45) is provided with a first guide groove (46) along the radial direction for the limit block (42) to slide, and the limit block (42) is arranged on the upper end surface of the fixed disk (45); A driving disk (47) and a rotating shaft (48), wherein the driving disk (47) is arranged above the fixed disk (45), and the driving disk (47) is rotatably connected to the fixed disk (45) via the rotating shaft (48); a second guide groove (49) for providing power to the cylinder (43) is provided on the driving disk (47), and the cylinder (43) can slide in the second guide groove (49), one end of the second guide groove (49) is close to the center of the driving disk (47), and the other end of the second guide groove (49) is close to the edge of the driving disk (47); The driving device (5) is used to provide power for the driving disc (47) to rotate.

3. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The number of cathode parts (3) is four.

4. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 2, characterized in that: The slide block (41) has a rectangular structure.

5. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 2, characterized in that: A mounting bracket (6) for fixing the driving device (5) is arranged on the upper part of the fixing plate (45); the driving device (5) is a reduction motor, and the reduction motor is connected to the rotating shaft (48) in a fixed structural manner.

6. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 2, characterized in that: A lifting and sliding bracket for supporting the fixing plate (45) is fixedly arranged on one side of the fixing plate (45).

7. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lifting and sliding bracket comprises an L-shaped bracket (71), a sleeve (72), an oil cylinder (73), a slide seat (75) and a guide rail (74); the upper end of the L-shaped bracket (71) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the fixed plate (45); the lower part of the L-shaped bracket (71) is sleeved in the sleeve (72) and slidably connected to the sleeve (72); the slide seat (75) is fixedly arranged on the lower end surface of the sleeve (72); the slide seat (75) and the guide rail (74) are slidably matched; the oil cylinder (73) is arranged in the sleeve (72) at the upper end of the slide seat (75) to support the L-shaped bracket (71) to move up and down.

8. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 2, characterized in that: The insulating material is epoxy resin insulating bakelite material.

9. The low-energy rare earth electrolysis equipment with adjustable inter-pole distance according to claim 3, characterized in that: A pure iron protective layer (8) is fixedly provided on the outer peripheral wall of the upper end of the cathode split body (3).

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