A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device and method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device and method, which includes a machine body, on which there are a crusher, a spraying system, a lifting conveyor, a scraper trough, a mixing tank, a buffer tank and a dosing system. The present invention uses a crusher to crush waste lithium batteries, and at the same time sprays water to cool down during the crushing process, which can prevent crushing from catching fire and exploding, and has high safety; in addition, wet crushing can be carried out while charged, and there is no need to discharge before crushing, so the pre-treatment cycle of waste lithium battery recycling can be effectively shortened, and the production efficiency is higher; in addition, the solid materials formed after the waste lithium batteries are crushed are transported to a drying furnace for subsequent recycling and reuse, while the aqueous solution enters the mixing tank and the buffer tank in sequence, and the graphite-containing precipitate enters a filter press after horizontal flow sedimentation for subsequent recycling and reuse; obviously, the present invention can effectively carry out the pre-treatment work for the recycling and reuse of waste lithium batteries.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of recycling pretreatment of waste lithium batteries, and particularly to a wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device and method. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the mainstream recycling pretreatment process for waste lithium batteries is dry crushing. The battery must be discharged to a voltage below the safety voltage, the material turnover cycle is relatively long, and nitrogen needs to be filled during crushing to prevent flash explosions, which poses certain safety hazards. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device and method to improve the efficiency of recycling pretreatment of waste lithium batteries.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0005] A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device includes a machine body, on which there are a crusher, a spraying system, a lifting conveyor, a scraper trough, a stirring tank, a buffer tank, and a chemical dosing system;

[0006] The spraying system is located inside the crusher and is used to spray water at the crushing area;

[0007] The scraper trough is located directly below the discharge port of the crusher, and the solid materials and aqueous solution after the waste lithium battery is crushed by the crusher fall into the scraper trough;

[0008] The lower end of the lifting conveyor is located inside the scraper trough, and the lifting conveyor is used to lift the solid materials in the scraper trough to the next process;

[0009] The stirring tank is located below the liquid outlet of the scraper trough. There is a liquid inlet pipe above the stirring tank, and the liquid outlet at the lower end of the liquid inlet pipe extends into the stirring tank. The aqueous solution coming out of the scraper trough enters the stirring tank through the liquid inlet pipe, and a stirrer is provided inside the stirring tank;

[0010] The buffer tank is connected to the stirring tank through an overflow port. The bottom of the buffer tank has a sedimentation tank, and the sewage pipe at the bottom of the sedimentation tank is connected to a filter press. The water outlet of the buffer tank is connected with an upper water outlet pipe, and the upper water outlet pipe is used to discharge the electrolyte on the upper layer of the water surface inside the buffer tank to the sewage treatment system;

[0011] The chemical dosing system includes a chemical liquid tank, a metering pump, a pH probe, a chemical dosing port, and a control box. The chemical dosing port is arranged at the water inlet of the stirring tank, the pH probe is arranged at the overflow port between the stirring tank and the buffer tank, the water inlet of the metering pump is connected to the liquid outlet of the chemical liquid tank, the water outlet of the metering pump is connected to the chemical dosing port, and the metering pump and the pH probe are respectively electrically connected to the control box.

[0012] Further, the crusher includes a primary crushing mechanism and a secondary crushing mechanism arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The top of the primary crushing mechanism has a feeding port, and the discharge port is located at the bottom of the secondary crushing mechanism. The primary crushing mechanism and the secondary crushing mechanism are connected by an overhead bin. The crushing cutter rolls inside the primary crushing mechanism and the secondary crushing mechanism are arranged in a cross pattern.

[0013] Further, the spraying system includes spraying nozzles respectively placed inside the feeding port and inside the overhead bin.

[0014] Further, the material lifting angle of the lifting conveyor is 30° - 45°.

[0015] Further, a water inlet filter screen is provided between the liquid outlet of the scraper trough and the mixing pool. The aqueous solution coming out of the scraper trough enters the mixing pool after being filtered by the water inlet filter screen.

[0016] Further, there are two or more buffer pools, and adjacent buffer pools are communicated through an overflow port.

[0017] Further, a lower water outlet pipe is provided below the upper water outlet pipe. The lower water outlet pipe is connected to a water circulation pump, and the water circulation pump pumps the water in the buffer pool to the water inlet end of the spraying system.

[0018] Further, a water outlet filter screen is provided inside the upper water outlet pipe and the lower water outlet pipe.

[0019] Further, the exterior of the machine body is covered with a sealing cover, and air extraction ports are respectively provided on the sealing cover and the top of the crushing mechanism.

[0020] A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing method of the present invention uses the above-mentioned crushing device, and includes the following steps:

[0021] 1) The waste lithium battery enters the inside of the crusher from the feeding port. While the crusher crushes the waste lithium battery, the spraying system sprays water at the crushing area to cool down the temperature.

[0022] 2) The crushed solid materials and the aqueous solution fall into the lower scraper trough. The solid materials are transported to the next process by the lifting conveyor, and the aqueous solution flows into the mixing pool.

[0023] 3) The liquid medicine pumped out from the metering pump is mixed with the aqueous solution flowing out of the scraper trough at the liquid inlet of the liquid inlet pipe and then flows into the middle of the mixing pool. After stirring, the liquid medicine and the aqueous solution are fully mixed and reacted, and then flow into the buffer pool through the overflow port. In this step, the pH probe detects the pH value of the aqueous solution and feeds it back to the control box, and the control box adjusts and controls the dosage of the metering pump to ensure that the acidity and alkalinity of the aqueous solution meet the equipment operation requirements.

[0024] 4) The aqueous solution entering the buffer tank undergoes horizontal flow sedimentation to separate the water and the sediment containing graphite. The sediment containing graphite is regularly discharged to the filter press through the sewage pipe according to the weight data of the old batteries crushed at the front end. The electrolyte on the upper layer of the water surface is discharged to the sewage treatment system, and the other water is pumped to the spray system for recycling.

[0025] The beneficial effects of the present invention adopting the above technical solutions are as follows:

[0026] 1. The waste lithium batteries are crushed by a crusher, and at the same time, water is sprayed during the crushing process to prevent ignition and explosion during crushing, with high safety. In addition, wet crushing can be carried out while the batteries are charged, and there is no need to discharge electricity before crushing. Therefore, the pretreatment cycle of waste lithium battery recycling can be effectively shortened, and the production efficiency is higher.

[0027] 2. The solid materials formed after the waste lithium batteries are crushed are transported to the drying furnace for subsequent recycling and reuse, while the aqueous solution enters the mixing tank and the buffer tank in sequence. After horizontal flow sedimentation, the sediment containing graphite enters the filter press for subsequent recycling and reuse. Obviously, the present invention can effectively perform the preliminary pretreatment work for the recycling and reuse of waste lithium batteries. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The following further describes the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments;

[0029] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional view of another perspective of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 is a front view of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the crusher. Embodiment

[0033] As Figures 1-4 shown, in order to facilitate the display of the internal structure of the device, some of the sealing covers 2 and the frame outside the body 1 are removed. The crushing device of the present invention specifically includes a body 1, on which there are a crusher 3, a spray system 4, a lifting conveyor 5, a scraper trough 6, a mixing tank 7, a buffer tank 8 and a dosing system 9.

[0034] The crusher 3 includes a primary crushing mechanism 31 and a secondary crushing mechanism 32 arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The top of the primary crushing mechanism 31 has a feeding port, and the discharge port is located at the bottom of the secondary crushing mechanism 32. The primary crushing mechanism 31 and the secondary crushing mechanism 32 are connected by an overhead bin 33. The crusher 3 uses a double-stage tearing machine. The crushing cutter rolls inside the primary crushing mechanism 31 and the secondary crushing mechanism 32 are arranged in a cross shape. At the same time, crushing blades of appropriate size are selected to make the particle size of the crushed solid materials meet the requirements of the subsequent processes. Moreover, a screen is not required at the discharge port of the crusher 3, and the solid materials will not be blocked by materials such as diaphragms.

[0035] The spraying system 4 includes spraying nozzles respectively placed inside the feeding port and inside the overhead bin 33, spraying water at the crushing parts of the two-stage crushing mechanisms respectively to prevent crushing from catching fire and exploding.

[0036] The scraper trough 6 is located directly below the discharge port of the crusher 3. The solid materials and aqueous solution after the waste lithium batteries are crushed by the crusher 3 fall into the scraper trough 6.

[0037] The lower end of the lifting conveyor 5 is located inside the scraper trough 6. The lifting conveyor 5 is used to lift the solid materials in the scraper trough 6 to the next process. The design of the lifting conveyor 5 refers to the scraper conveyors used in mines and cement plants. To adapt to the wet crushing of lithium batteries and prevent leakage, the lower roller bearings of the lifting conveyor 5 are changed to an internal structure. The material lifting angle of the lifting conveyor 5 is 30 - 45°, which can effectively filter moisture and reduce the drying energy consumption.

[0038] The mixing pool 7 is located below the liquid outlet of the scraper trough 6. There is a liquid inlet pipe 71 above the mixing pool 7. The liquid outlet at the lower end of the liquid inlet pipe 71 extends into the mixing pool 7. The aqueous solution coming out of the scraper trough 6 enters the mixing pool 7 through the liquid inlet pipe 71. A stirrer 72 is arranged inside the mixing pool 7.

[0039] The buffer pool 8 is communicated with the mixing pool 7 through an overflow port. There are more than two buffer pools 8, and adjacent buffer pools 8 are communicated through an overflow port. The bottom of the buffer pool 8 has a sedimentation tank 83. The sewage pipe 84 at the bottom of the sedimentation tank 83 is connected to a filter press. The water outlet of the buffer pool 8 is connected with an upper water outlet pipe 81. The position of the upper water outlet pipe 81 is about 30 mm below the liquid level. According to the weight of the crushed batteries, the electrolyte on the upper layer of the water surface inside the buffer pool 8 is regularly discharged to the sewage treatment system. A lower water outlet pipe 82 is arranged below the upper water outlet pipe 81. The lower water outlet pipe 82 is connected to a water circulation pump 10 (water circulation system). The water circulation pump 10 pumps the water in the buffer pool 8 to the water inlet end of the spraying system 4 to realize the recycling of water.

[0040] The chemical dosing system 9 includes a liquid medicine tank 91, a metering pump 92, a pH probe 93, a chemical dosing port 94, and a control box 95. The chemical dosing port 94 is arranged at the water inlet of the mixing tank 7, and the pH probe 93 is arranged at the overflow port between the mixing tank 7 and the buffer tank 8. The water inlet of the metering pump 92 is connected to the liquid outlet of the liquid medicine tank 91, the liquid outlet of the metering pump 92 is connected to the chemical dosing port 94, and the metering pump 92 and the pH probe 93 are respectively electrically connected to the control box 95.

[0041] An inlet water filter screen 11 is provided between the liquid outlet of the scraper trough 6 and the mixing tank 7. The aqueous solution coming out of the scraper trough 6 enters the mixing tank 7 after being filtered by the inlet water filter screen 11. The inner sides of the upper outlet pipe 81 and the lower outlet pipe 82 are provided with outlet water filter screens 12. Both the inlet water filter screen 11 and the outlet water filter screen 12 are detachable, which is convenient for cleaning and replacement. The upper outlet pipe 81 and the lower outlet pipe 82 can be equipped with an integral water filter, with stable water output and convenient replacement.

[0042] To prevent fire and flash explosion, in addition to cooling down with spray water, it is also necessary to timely extract the waste gas generated after crushing. Considering safety and environmental protection issues, the whole exterior of the machine body 1 is covered with a sealing cover 2 (equipped with some working windows or observation windows that can be opened and closed). The whole equipment is in a relatively airtight system. In order to timely extract the waste gas generated by crushing and prevent the concentration of combustible gas from being too high and causing safety accidents, air extraction ports 13 are respectively arranged on the crusher 3 structure and the top of the frame; a large amount of heat can be carried away while extracting air, preventing the accumulation of energy of the crushed battery and the boiling of the water body.

[0043] In addition, the automatic control system involved in the present invention also includes the following:

[0044] 1) An automatic weighing system, which provides data support for the subsequent automatic control and material balance calculation;

[0045] 2) Variable frequency adjustable speed control, using a frequency converter to achieve variable frequency speed regulation and soft start of the crusher 3 and the lifting conveyor 5, and using a PLC to complete various logic controls, realizing the high-speed, low-speed, intermittent and idle operation of the crusher 3;

[0046] 3) A liquid level and water temperature monitoring system, which monitors the water level and water temperature inside the buffer tank 8 in real time, realizes low water level and high temperature alarms, and ensures the normal operation of the equipment;

[0047] 4) An automatic sewage discharge device, which realizes the function of automatically discharging the electrolyte on the water surface and the sediment at the bottom of the pool according to the weighing system and the liquid level feedback data, and automatically opens and closes the water circulation system to realize the automatic reflux of the filtered clear water;

[0048] 5) The chemical dosing system 9, which adjusts the chemical dosing amount in real time according to the online monitoring feedback signal of the pH detection head, and ensures that the water acidity and alkalinity meet the equipment operation requirements.

[0049] A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing method includes the following steps:

[0050] 1) The waste lithium battery enters the interior of the crusher 3 from the feeding port. While the crusher 3 crushes the waste lithium battery, the spraying system 4 sprays water at the crushing area for cooling.

[0051] 2) The crushed solid materials and the aqueous solution fall into the scraper trough 6 below. The solid materials are conveyed to the next process (drying furnace) by the lifting conveyor 5, and the aqueous solution flows into the mixing tank 7.

[0052] 3) Since the aqueous solution after the lithium battery is crushed is alkaline, to prevent the accumulation of alkaline liquid, corrosion of equipment, and influence on product quality, a neutralizing solution needs to be added to balance the pH value. The liquid medicine pumped out from the metering pump 92 and the aqueous solution flowing out of the scraper trough 6 are mixed at the liquid inlet of the liquid inlet pipe 71 and then flow into the middle of the mixing tank 7. After stirring, the liquid medicine and the aqueous solution are fully mixed and reacted, and then flow into the buffer tank 8 through the overflow port. In this step, the pH probe 93 detects the pH value of the aqueous solution and feeds it back to the control box 95, and the control box 95 adjusts and controls the dosing amount (acid liquid) of the metering pump 92 to ensure that the pH value of the aqueous solution meets the equipment operation requirements.

[0053] 4) The aqueous solution entering the buffer tank 8 undergoes horizontal flow sedimentation to separate the water and the precipitate containing graphite. The precipitate containing graphite is regularly discharged to the filter press through the sewage discharge pipe 84 according to the weight data of the front-end crushed old batteries. The electrolyte on the upper layer of the water surface is discharged to the sewage treatment system, and the other water is pumped to the spraying system 4 for recycling.

[0054] The above describes the implementation of the present invention in conjunction with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above specific implementation manners. The above specific implementation manners are illustrative rather than restrictive of the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and they should all be covered within the scope of the claims and the description of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device, comprising a machine body, characterized in that: The machine body is equipped with a crusher, a spraying system, a lifting conveyor, a scraper trough, a mixing tank, a buffer tank and a chemical dosing system; The spraying system is located inside the crusher and is used to spray water at the crushing area; The scraper trough is located directly below the discharge opening of the crusher, and the solid materials and aqueous solution after the waste lithium batteries are crushed by the crusher fall into the scraper trough; The lower end of the lifting conveyor is located inside the scraper trough, and the lifting conveyor is used to lift the solid materials in the scraper trough to the next process; The mixing tank is located below the liquid outlet of the scraper trough. There is a liquid inlet pipe above the mixing tank, and the liquid outlet at the lower end of the liquid inlet pipe extends into the mixing tank. The aqueous solution coming out of the scraper trough enters the mixing tank through the liquid inlet pipe, and a stirrer is arranged inside the mixing tank; The buffer tank is communicated with the mixing tank through an overflow port. The bottom of the buffer tank has a sedimentation tank, and the sewage pipe at the bottom of the sedimentation tank is connected to a filter press. The water outlet of the buffer tank is connected with an upper water outlet pipe, and the upper water outlet pipe is used to discharge the electrolyte on the upper layer of the water surface inside the buffer tank to the sewage treatment system; The chemical dosing system includes a chemical liquid tank, a metering pump, a pH probe, a chemical dosing port and a control box. The chemical dosing port is arranged at the water inlet of the mixing tank, the pH probe is arranged at the overflow port between the mixing tank and the buffer tank, the water inlet of the metering pump is connected with the liquid outlet of the chemical liquid tank, the water outlet of the metering pump is connected with the chemical dosing port, and the metering pump and the pH probe are respectively electrically connected to the control box; The crusher includes a primary crushing mechanism and a secondary crushing mechanism arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The top of the primary crushing mechanism has a feeding port, and the discharge port is located at the bottom of the secondary crushing mechanism; The primary crushing mechanism and the secondary crushing mechanism are connected through an overhead bin; The crushing cutter rolls inside the primary crushing mechanism and the secondary crushing mechanism are arranged in a cross shape; The spraying system includes spraying nozzles respectively placed inside the feeding port and inside the overhead bin; The material lifting angle of the lifting conveyor is 30°-45°; An inlet water filter screen is arranged between the liquid outlet of the scraper trough and the mixing tank, and the aqueous solution coming out of the scraper trough enters the mixing tank after being filtered by the inlet water filter screen.

2. The wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are more than two buffer tanks, and adjacent buffer tanks are communicated through overflow ports.

3. The wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A lower water outlet pipe is arranged below the upper water outlet pipe, and the lower water outlet pipe is connected to a water circulation pump, and the water circulation pump pumps the water in the buffer tank to the water inlet end of the spraying system.

4. A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Outlet water filter screens are arranged inside the upper water outlet pipe and the lower water outlet pipe.

5. The wet charged waste lithium battery crushing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outside of the machine body is covered with a sealing cover, and air extraction openings are respectively arranged on the sealing cover and the top of the crushing mechanism.

6. A wet charged waste lithium battery crushing method, using the crushing device described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: 1) The waste lithium batteries enter the inside of the crusher from the feeding port. While the crusher crushes the waste lithium batteries, the spraying system sprays water at the crushing area to cool down; 2) The crushed solid materials and aqueous solution fall into the lower scraper trough. The solid materials are transported to the next process by the lifting conveyor, and the aqueous solution flows into the mixing tank; 3) The liquid medicine pumped out by the metering pump and the aqueous solution flowing out of the scraper tank are mixed at the liquid inlet of the liquid inlet pipe and then flow into the middle of the mixing tank. After stirring, the liquid medicine and the aqueous solution are fully mixed and reacted, and then flow into the buffer tank through the overflow port; in this step, the pH probe detects the pH value of the aqueous solution and feeds it back to the control box, and the control box adjusts and controls the dosing amount of the metering pump to ensure that the acidity and alkalinity of the aqueous solution meet the equipment operation requirements; 4) The aqueous solution entering the buffer tank undergoes horizontal flow sedimentation to separate the water and the precipitate containing graphite. The precipitate containing graphite is regularly discharged to the filter press through the sewage pipe according to the weight data of the front-end broken old batteries. The electrolyte on the upper layer of the water surface is discharged to the sewage treatment system, and the other water is pumped to the spray system for recycling.

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