Horizontal mixed kiln and process for processing lithium battery powder

Abstract

The invention discloses a horizontal mixed kiln which comprises a heating device and a cooling device which are horizontally arranged and sequentially communicated from top to bottom, the heating device and the cooling device are each provided with a support, the supports are arranged in an up-down laminated mode, the heating device and the cooling device are each provided with a rotating tank capable of moving on the corresponding support, and a mixing structure is arranged in each rotating tank. One end of the rotating tank is provided with a feeding assembly and an air inlet pipe, and the other end of the rotating tank is provided with a discharging assembly and an exhaust pipe. A production line of a traditional sintering technology kiln is replaced by the structure that the horizontal mixing kiln is placed from top to bottom, the occupied area is greatly reduced, heat dissipation of the working environment is facilitated, energy consumption and loss are lower, the machining time is shortened, and the working efficiency is improved; the rotary tank replaces the labor cost of a traditional sagger, and the production cost is lower; nitrogen is filled through the gas inlet pipe, and oxygen in the rotating tank is discharged through the exhaust pipe, so that an oxygen-free environment is achieved in the rotating tank, the lithium battery powder raw material is prevented from being oxidized in the heating process, and the quality of the lithium battery powder is better.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of lithium battery powder processing equipment and processing technology, and in particular to a horizontal mixing kiln and a process for processing lithium battery powder. Background Art

[0002] Lithium battery powder needs to be removed before it can be obtained with higher purity to increase the storage capacity of lithium batteries. At present, most lithium battery powder is heated in a kiln to evaporate impurities and discharge exhaust gas. For example, Chinese invention patent application number 202110681868.2 discloses a gas-heated roller kiln for producing lithium battery materials, which includes a kiln body (1), a protective gas replacement chamber (2), a mechanical transmission device and an automatic control device, and is characterized in that: the kiln body (1) is divided into a heating section, a heat preservation section, a slow cooling section, and a cooling section, a gas heating system is arranged in the heating section and the heat preservation section of the kiln body (1), and a self-preheating induced radiation tube burner is used as a combustion The device adopts a staggered upper and lower row, multi-point symmetrical and uniform distribution of burners, and is divided into multiple zones for pulse timing control. A smoke exhaust pipe (8) and a waste exhaust pipe (9) are arranged on the kiln top, and a stirring fan (22) is arranged on each kiln top. The roller (3) is sealed with a sealing box, and the parts leaking out of the sealing box on both sides are sealed with flanges. A water cooling device (10) and an air cooling pipe (25) are arranged in the slow cooling section and the cooling section of the kiln body (1). The protective gas replacement chamber (2) is arranged at both ends of the inlet and outlet of the kiln, and is sent into the furnace and the transmission sealing cover through the protective gas pipe (7) and the bottom protective gas branch pipe (26) and the upper protective gas branch pipe (27) arranged below the kiln body (1). This type of kiln places the lithium battery powder raw material into a sealed sagger, and then passes it through the entire kiln production line to finally obtain lithium battery powder. It has the following disadvantages: 1. The kiln production line is long, which occupies a large area, takes a long processing time, and consumes a lot of energy; 2. The lithium battery powder raw material is heated in a closed sagger, resulting in uneven heating. Impurities and exhaust gas are not completely removed during the heating process. The processed lithium battery powder contains many impurities and the purity of the lithium battery powder is not high enough, resulting in poor power storage quality of the lithium battery powder; 3. The sagger is heated at high temperature for a long time, and its service life is limited. Generally, the sagger needs to be replaced in about three months, which increases production costs; 4. The processing environment of the lithium battery powder raw material has oxygen, and it will be oxidized and blackened during the heating process, which reduces the quality of the lithium battery powder. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the background technology, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a horizontal mixing kiln with a smaller footprint, lower energy consumption, higher production capacity and lower production cost.

[0004] To this end, the present invention is implemented by adopting the following technical solutions:

[0005] A horizontal mixing kiln is characterized in that it comprises a heating device and a cooling device which are arranged horizontally and connected in sequence from top to bottom, the heating device and the cooling device are both equipped with a support, the supports are arranged in upper and lower layers, the heating device and the cooling device both have a rotating tank which can move on the support, a mixing structure is arranged in the rotating tank, a feeding assembly and an air inlet pipe are arranged at one end of the rotating tank, and a discharging assembly and an exhaust pipe are arranged at the other end of the rotating tank.

[0006] Furthermore, at least one group of the heating device is provided, and the heating device includes a medium frequency induction heating structure, and the medium frequency induction heating structure includes a hollow copper tube surrounding the outer ring of the rotating tank, a coolant in the hollow copper tube, and a power supply connected to the hollow copper tube.

[0007] Furthermore, the cooling device includes a water cooling box body that wraps around the rotating tank, a water inlet pipe is provided at the upper end of the water cooling box body, a water accumulation bowl and a water outlet pipe are provided at the lower end, the water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe are externally connected to a chiller, a transverse water pipe is provided at the lower end of the water inlet pipe and is located inside the water cooling box body, and the transverse water pipe is provided with a number of spray heads facing the rotating tank; a cold air inlet pipe is connected to the left side of the upper end of the water cooling box body, and a hot air outlet pipe is connected to the right side.

[0008] Furthermore, the rotating tank has a feed oblique cone on one side and a discharge oblique cone on the other side, the feed oblique cone is connected to the feed component, and the discharge oblique cone is connected to the discharge component, the feed component includes a fixedly connected feed ring and a feed flange, the discharge component includes a fixedly connected discharge ring and a discharge flange, the feed flange and the discharge flange are fixedly connected to the support, the feed ring is provided with a feed pipe, the feed pipe is connected to the hopper, and the discharge ring is provided with a discharge hopper.

[0009] Furthermore, the feed inclined cone is sleeved with a plurality of inclined cone sprockets, the support is provided with a driving motor, the rotating shaft of the driving motor is provided with a motor sprocket aligned with the inclined cone sprocket, the motor sprocket and the inclined cone sprocket are linked and driven by a chain, the feed inclined cone and the discharging inclined cone are both provided with circular rings, the support is provided with a plurality of supporting wheels that can rest on the circular rings, thin-walled bearings and a plurality of graphite packing sealing assemblies are both provided between the feed ring and the feed inclined cone, and between the discharging ring and the discharging inclined cone, the feed ring and the discharging ring are provided with oil passages communicated with the corresponding graphite packing sealing assemblies, the oil passage inlet has an oil injection nozzle, the inner rings of the feed ring and the discharging ring are both provided with a plurality of circles of first grooves, the feed inclined cone and the discharging cone are both provided with a plurality of circles of second grooves that are staggered and communicated with the first grooves, the feed ring and the discharging ring are provided with air passages communicated with the first grooves of the outermost circle, and the air passage inlet has an air injection nozzle.

[0010] Furthermore, the number of the heating devices is two groups, namely a first group of heating devices and a second group of heating devices. The first group of heating devices is placed on the second group of heating devices, and the second group of heating devices is placed on the third group of cooling devices. The feed pipe is tilted upward, and the discharge hopper is tilted downward. The discharge hopper of the first group of heating devices is connected to the feed pipe of the second group of heating devices through a connecting pipe, and the discharge hopper of the second group of heating devices is connected to the feed pipe of the third group of cooling devices through a connecting pipe.

[0011] Furthermore, the mixing structure includes a first spiral blade and a second spiral blade with opposite spiral directions, the outer ring of the first spiral blade is welded and fixed to the inner wall of the rotating tank, the outer diameter of the second spiral blade is smaller than the inner diameter of the first spiral blade, and the outer ring of the second spiral blade and the inner ring of the first spiral blade are connected by a plurality of connecting rods, the discharging inclined cone has a discharging port, the inner wall of the discharging inclined cone is provided with a plurality of guide plates, the guide plates extend from the right end of the discharging inclined cone to the position of the discharging port, the guide plates are arc-shaped as a whole, and the angle between the guide plates and the inner wall of the discharging inclined cone is an acute angle, the guide plates and the discharging inclined cone form a feeding trough, the inner wall of the discharging flange is provided with a transition ring, the middle of the transition ring bulges toward the inner ring to form a folded angle, one side of the transition ring smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the discharging inclined cone, and the other side smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the discharging hopper, the discharging hopper is provided with an isolation frame, the outer end of the isolation frame is provided with a cylinder, the driving rod of the cylinder is inserted into the discharging hopper, and the other end of the driving rod is provided with a discharging tongue that can rest on the transition ring.

[0012] Furthermore, the air inlet pipe is connected with the feed pipe, and the exhaust pipe is connected with the discharge ring. The feed ring is provided with a temperature sensor inserted into the feed inclined cone, the feed pipe is provided with a pressure difference sensor, and the exhaust pipe is provided with an oxygen sensor. Water retaining rings are provided at both ends of the water cooling box body, and high-temperature resistant sealing gaskets are provided between the water retaining ring and the water cooling box body, which are against the feed inclined cone and the discharge inclined cone. The outer ring of the rotating tank of the heating device is provided with a heat insulation material layer.

[0013] After adopting the above technical scheme, the heating device heats the lithium battery powder raw material, evaporates the impurity water after sintering and discharges the exhaust gas through the exhaust pipe, and then after two sets of sintering processes, the discharging component discharges the impurity-free lithium battery powder into the cooling device, and the cooling device cools the lithium battery powder and discharges it through the discharging component to obtain a lithium battery powder product. This top-down horizontal mixed kiln structure replaces the production line of the traditional sintering technology kiln, greatly reducing the floor space, and at the same time facilitating the heat dissipation of the working environment, so that energy consumption and loss are also lower, shortening the processing time and improving work efficiency; lithium battery powder raw material Under the mixing action of the rotating tank, not only the lithium battery powder raw materials are sintered more evenly, but also the impurities in all materials are sintered and evaporated and the exhaust gas is discharged in the dynamic mixing process, so that the processed lithium battery powder contains less impurities and has higher purity, thereby making the lithium battery powder have better storage quality; at the same time, the rotating tank replaces the cost of the sagger of the traditional technical kiln, so that the production cost is lower; in addition, nitrogen is filled into the rotating tank through the air inlet pipe, and the oxygen in the rotating tank is exhausted through the exhaust pipe, so that the rotating tank reaches an oxygen-free environment, avoiding the oxidation of the lithium battery powder raw materials during the heating process, and making the lithium battery powder of better quality.

[0014] The present invention also discloses a process for processing lithium battery powder using the horizontal mixing kiln, which is characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0015] S1, start the power supply to make the hollow copper tube perform medium frequency induction heating on the rotating tank of the first group of heating devices, and at the same time inject nitrogen into the rotating tank through the air inlet pipe, and discharge the oxygen in the rotating tank through the exhaust pipe;

[0016] S2. When the oxygen concentration in the rotating tank is detected to be 0 by the oxygen sensor, the hopper of the first group of heating devices is opened to allow the lithium battery powder raw material to enter the rotating tank through the feeding pipe. During this process, the medium frequency induction heating structure continuously heats the rotating tank, so that the lithium battery powder raw material is continuously heated and the impurities therein are evaporated;

[0017] During the heating process of S3 and S2, the driving motor is started, and the feeding inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone are driven to rotate forward through the cooperation of the motor sprocket, the chain and the inclined cone sprocket. During the rotation, the lithium battery powder raw materials are dynamically and evenly mixed and heated, so that the impurities and moisture in the lithium battery powder raw materials during high-temperature sintering evaporate and exhaust gas is discharged through the exhaust pipe;

[0018] In S4 and S3, the second group of heating devices preheats the rotating tank through the medium frequency induction heating structure, and at the same time, nitrogen is added to the rotating tank to exhaust oxygen. After the first group of heating devices heats and sinters the lithium battery powder raw materials, the cylinder is driven to open the discharge tongue of the first group of heating devices. At the same time, the driving motor of the first group of heating devices reverses to drive the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharge inclined cone to rotate in the opposite direction. The lithium battery powder raw materials are lifted by the guide plate to the discharge ring and enter the feed pipe and the rotating tank of the second group of heating devices through the discharge hopper and the connecting pipe for secondary heating and curing to remove impurities and waste gas. After the heating is completed, the obtained lithium battery powder is transported to the cooling device in the same way;

[0019] S5. The driving motor of the cooling device starts to drive the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone to rotate forwardly. The water inlet pipe transports cold water to the horizontal water pipe and sprays it to the outer surface of the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone through the sprinkler head to cool the high-temperature lithium battery powder in the rotating tank. At the same time, the cold air inlet pipe inputs cold air into the cooling box, and the hot air outlet pipe discharges the hot air in the cooling box to the outside until the lithium battery powder is completely cooled. The driving motor of the cooling device reverses to drive the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone to rotate in the opposite direction, and drives the cylinder to open the discharging tongue of the cooling device. The cooled lithium battery powder is lifted by the guide plate to the discharging ring and discharged through the discharging hopper.

[0020] Furthermore, the heating temperature in S1 is 80-100 degrees; the heating temperature in S2 and S3 is 450-500 degrees, the heating time is 1-3h, and the exhaust gas is discharged at intervals during the heating process. At the same time, the positive pressure in the rotating tank is maintained at ≥20Pa according to the signal of the pressure difference sensor; the preheating temperature in S4 is greater than 450 degrees, the secondary heating and curing temperature is 800-850 degrees, and the secondary heating and curing time is 2-3h; the cooling time in S5 is 3h; after the first group of heating devices in S4 transports all the lithium battery powder raw materials to the second group of heating devices, the discharge tongue of the feed pipe of the second group of heating devices is closed, and the medium-frequency induction heating structure of the first group of heating devices stops working until the temperature in the rotating tank drops to less than 200 degrees, and then new lithium battery powder raw materials are added, and this process is repeated until all lithium battery powder raw materials are continuously processed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The present invention has the following accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the heating device in the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 It is a right side structural schematic diagram of the heating device in the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the cooling device in the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0027] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the graphite packing sealing component, oil channel and other structures in the present invention.

[0028] Figure numerals: 1, cooling device; 2, support; 3, rotating tank; 4, exhaust pipe; 5, air inlet pipe; 6, medium frequency induction heating structure; 7, hollow copper tube; 8, coolant; 9, water cooling box; 10, water inlet pipe; 11, water sump; 12, water outlet pipe; 13, horizontal water pipe; 14, sprinkler head; 16, cold air inlet pipe; 17, hot air outlet pipe; 18, feed oblique cone; 19, discharge oblique cone; 20, feed ring; 21, feed flange; 22, discharge ring; 23, discharge flange; 24, feed pipe; 25, discharge hopper; 26, oblique cone sprocket; 27, drive motor; 28, motor sprocket; 30, ring; 31, support wheel; 32, thin-walled bearing ; 33. Graphite packing sealing assembly; 34. The first group of heating devices; 35. The second group of heating devices; 37. The first spiral blade; 38. The second spiral blade; 39. The connecting rod; 40. The guide plate; 41. The temperature sensor; 42. The oxygen sensor; 43. The pressure difference sensor; 44. The water retaining ring; 45. The high temperature resistant sealing gasket; 46. The insulation material layer; 47. The oil channel; 48. The oil injection nozzle; 49. The hopper; 50. The connecting pipe; 51. The discharge port; 52. The feed trough; 53. The transition ring; 54. The isolation frame; 55. The cylinder; 56. The driving rod; 57. The discharge tongue; 58. The first groove; 59. The second groove; 60. The air channel; 61. The air injection nozzle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to further explain the technical means and effects adopted by the present invention to achieve the predetermined invention purpose, the specific implementation mode, structure, characteristics and effects of the present invention are described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments.

[0030] Referring to the above-mentioned drawings, a horizontal mixing kiln provided by the present invention includes a heating device and a cooling device 1 which are connected horizontally in sequence from top to bottom. The heating device and the cooling device 1 are both equipped with a support 2, and the support 2 is stacked up and down. The heating device and the cooling device 1 both have a rotating tank 3 that can move on the support 2, and a mixing structure is provided in the rotating tank 3, and a feeding assembly and an air inlet pipe 5 are provided at one end of the rotating tank 3, and a discharging assembly and an exhaust pipe 4 are provided at the other end of the rotating tank 3. At least one group of the heating device is provided, and the heating device includes a medium-frequency induction heating structure 6, and the medium-frequency induction heating structure 6 includes a hollow copper tube 7 surrounding the outer ring of the rotating tank 3, a coolant 8 in the hollow copper tube 7, and a power supply connected to the hollow copper tube 7. The medium-frequency induction heating structure 6 has an effect on the rotating tank 3. The heating is more uniform. The medium-frequency induction heating structure 6 has the following advantages: high heating temperature, non-contact heating, high heating efficiency, energy-saving operation, small footprint, and high production efficiency. The cooling device 1 includes a water cooling box 9 wrapped around the rotating tank 3. The upper end of the water cooling box 9 is provided with a water inlet pipe 10, and the lower end is provided with a water sump 11 and a water outlet pipe 12. The water inlet pipe 10 and the water outlet pipe 12 are externally connected to a chiller. The lower end of the water inlet pipe 10 is provided with a transverse water pipe 13 located in the water cooling box 9, and the transverse water pipe 13 is provided with a plurality of spray heads 14 facing the rotating tank 3; so that the high-temperature lithium battery powder in the rotating tank 3 can be cooled faster, thereby improving production efficiency; the upper left side of the water cooling box 9 is connected with a cold air inlet pipe 16, and the right side is connected with a hot air outlet pipe 17, which can The invention can further accelerate the cooling of the high-temperature lithium battery powder in the rotating tank 3. The rotating tank 3 has a feed oblique cone 18 on one side and a discharge oblique cone 19 on the other side. The feed oblique cone 18 is connected to the feed component, and the discharge oblique cone 19 is connected to the discharge component. The feed component includes a fixedly connected feed ring 20 and a feed flange 21. The discharge component includes a fixedly connected discharge ring 22 and a discharge flange 23. The feed flange 21 and the discharge flange 23 are fixedly connected to the support 2. The feed ring 20 is provided with a feed pipe 24, and the discharge ring 22 is provided with a discharge hopper 25. The feed oblique cone 18 is sleeved with a plurality of oblique cone sprockets 26. The support 2 is provided with a drive motor 27. The rotating shaft of the drive motor 27 is provided with a motor sprocket 28 aligned with the oblique cone sprocket 26. The sprocket 28 and the inclined cone sprocket 26 are linked by a chain transmission. The feed inclined cone 18 and the discharge inclined cone 19 are both provided with a ring 30. The support 2 is provided with a plurality of supporting wheels 31 that can rest on the ring 30. Thin-walled bearings 32 and a plurality of graphite packing sealing assemblies 33 are provided between the feed ring 20 and the feed inclined cone 18, and between the discharge ring 22 and the discharge inclined cone 19. The graphite packing sealing assembly 33 is mainly made of various reinforced fibers, metal wires (steel wire, copper wire, nickel wire, carbon fiber, pre-oxidized wire, glass yarn) and other reinforced graphite wires as raw materials, and is suitable for dynamic sealing under high temperature and high pressure conditions. The feed ring 20 and the discharge ring 22 are provided with oil passages 47 communicating with the corresponding graphite packing sealing assemblies 33, and the entrance of the oil passage 47 has an oiling nozzle 48.The inner rings of the feed ring 20 and the discharge ring 22 are both provided with a plurality of circles of first grooves 58, the feed oblique cone 18 and the discharge oblique cone 19 are both provided with a plurality of circles of second grooves 59 which are staggered and communicated with the first grooves 58, the feed ring 20 and the discharge ring 22 are provided with an air channel 60 which is communicated with the first groove 58 of the outermost circle, and the entrance of the air channel 60 has an injection nozzle 61, the number of the heating devices is two groups, namely the first group of heating devices 34 and the second group of heating devices 35, the feed pipe 24 of the first group of heating devices 34 is connected with the hopper 49, and the first group of heating devices 34 is placed on the second group of heating devices 35, and the second group of heating devices 35 is placed on the third group of cooling devices 1, the feed pipe 24 is arranged to be tilted upward, the discharge hopper 25 is arranged to be tilted downward, and the first group of heating devices 34 is arranged to be tilted downward. The discharge hopper 25 of one group of heating devices 34 is connected to the feed pipe 24 of the second group of heating devices 35 through a connecting pipe 50, and the discharge hopper 25 of the second group of heating devices 35 is connected to the feed pipe 24 of the third group of cooling devices 1 through a connecting pipe 50. The mixing structure includes a first spiral blade 37 and a second spiral blade 38 with opposite spiral directions. The outer ring of the first spiral blade 37 is welded and fixed to the inner wall of the rotating tank 3. The outer diameter of the second spiral blade 38 is smaller than the inner diameter of the first spiral blade 37, and the outer ring of the second spiral blade 38 and the inner ring of the first spiral blade 37 are connected by a plurality of connecting rods 39. The discharge oblique cone 19 has a discharge port 51. The inner wall of the discharge oblique cone 19 is provided with a plurality of guide blades 40, and the guide blades 40 extend from the right end of the discharge oblique cone 19 to the discharge port 51. 1 position, the guide piece 40 is in an arc shape as a whole, and the included angle between the guide piece 40 and the inner wall of the discharge oblique cone 19 is an acute angle, the guide piece 40 and the discharge oblique cone 19 form a feeding trough 52, the inner wall of the discharge flange 23 is provided with a transition ring 53, the middle of the transition ring 53 is raised toward the inner circle to form a folded angle, one side of the transition ring 53 smoothly transitions with the inner wall of the discharge oblique cone 19, and the other side smoothly transitions with the inner wall of the discharge hopper 25, the discharge hopper 25 is provided with an isolation frame 54, the outer end of the isolation frame 54 is provided with a cylinder 55, the driving rod 56 of the cylinder 55 is inserted into the discharge hopper 25, and the other end of the driving rod 56 is provided with a discharge tongue 57 that can be against the transition ring 53. The guide piece 40 of this structure is convenient for conveying lithium battery powder to the discharge hopper 25. When the rotating tank 3 rotates forward, the first The spiral blade 37 conveys the lithium battery powder raw material to the direction of the feed oblique cone 18, and the second spiral blade 38 conveys the lithium battery powder raw material to the direction of the discharge oblique cone 19, so that the lithium battery powder raw material in the rotating tank 3 is mixed more evenly. When the rotating tank 3 rotates in the opposite direction, the first spiral blade 37 conveys the lithium battery powder raw material to the direction of the discharge oblique cone 19, and then is conveyed to the corresponding discharge hopper 25 by the guide plate 40. The air intake pipe 5 is connected to the feed pipe 24, and the exhaust pipe 4 is connected to the discharge ring 22. The feed ring 20 is provided with a temperature sensor 41 inserted into the feed oblique cone 18, the feed pipe 24 is inserted with a pressure difference sensor 43, and the exhaust pipe 4 is inserted with an oxygen sensor 42. The left and right ends of the water cooling box 9 are provided with water retaining rings 44.A high temperature resistant sealing gasket 45 is provided between the water retaining ring 44 and the water cooling box 9, which is against the feed inclined cone 18 and the discharge inclined cone 19, so that the sealing performance of the water cooling box 9 is better. The outer ring of the rotating tank 3 of the heating device is provided with a heat insulation material layer 46, so that the heat preservation performance of the heating device is better and energy loss is reduced.

[0031] In this embodiment, the heating device heats the lithium battery powder raw material, evaporates the impurity water after sintering and discharges the exhaust gas through the exhaust pipe 4, and then after two sets of sintering processes, the discharging component discharges the impurity-free lithium battery powder into the cooling device 1, and the cooling device 1 cools the lithium battery powder and discharges it through the discharging component to obtain a lithium battery powder product. This horizontal mixing kiln structure replaces the production line of the traditional sintering technology kiln, greatly reduces the floor space, and has lower energy consumption and loss, shortens the processing time, and improves work efficiency; the lithium battery powder raw material is mixed with the rotating tank 3 in the rotating tank 3, which not only makes the lithium battery powder raw material sintered more evenly, but also makes the impurities in all materials sintered and evaporated and the exhaust gas discharged in the dynamic mixing process, so that the processed lithium The battery powder contains less impurities and has a higher purity, thereby making the storage quality of the lithium battery powder better; at the same time, the rotating tank 3 replaces the cost of the sagger of the traditional technical kiln, which makes the production cost lower; in addition, nitrogen is filled into the rotating tank 3 through the air inlet pipe 5, and the oxygen in the rotating tank 3 is removed through the exhaust pipe 4, so that the rotating tank 3 reaches an oxygen-free environment, avoiding the oxidation of the lithium battery powder raw material during the heating process, and making the lithium battery powder of better quality; lubricating oil is regularly injected into the oil channel 47 through the oil injection nozzle 48, so that the graphite packing assembly is kept lubricated and the service life is increased; the setting of the thin-walled bearing 32 makes a certain gap between the feed ring 20 and the feed oblique cone 18, and between the discharge ring 22 and the discharge oblique cone 19, so when the equipment is working, the air is injected into the air channel 60 through the air injection nozzle 61 The gas passes through the first groove 58, the second groove 59, the first groove 58, the second groove 59 one by one, and finally enters the rotating tank 3 through the gap. The multiple first grooves 58 and the second grooves 59 arranged in a staggered manner form a labyrinth air seal to prevent the material from entering the gap when the equipment is working, thereby affecting the sealing between the feed ring 20 and the feed inclined cone 18, and between the discharge ring 22 and the discharge inclined cone 19; when the discharge inclined cone 19 rotates forward, no discharge operation is performed. When the discharge inclined cone 19 rotates reversely, the material will enter the feed trough 52 and move to the discharge port 51 for discharge operation. Since the guide piece 40 is in an arc shape as a whole, the feed trough 52 can be loaded with more materials, increasing the discharge speed, and the material will slide to the bottom of the feed trough 52 (arc shape) due to its own weight. As the discharge oblique cone 19 continues to reverse, the bottom of the relative feeding trough 52 (arc-shaped) is constantly changing, so that the material has a tendency to slide toward the discharge port 51, further accelerating the discharge speed; the middle of the transition ring 53 on the inner wall of the discharge flange 23 bulges inward to form a folded angle, and one side of the transition ring 53 smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the discharge oblique cone 19, and the other side smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the discharge hopper 25, effectively preventing the material from being deposited on the inner wall of the discharge flange 23, avoiding affecting the sealing, and making the discharge more thorough; the driving cylinder 55 can drive the discharge tongue 57 to move left and right. When the materials are mixed, the discharge tongue 57 moves to the right so that the discharge tongue 57 rests on the transition ring 53 to complete the sealing of the discharge port 51. When discharging, the discharge tongue 57 moves to the left to separate from the transition ring 53, and the structure is stable and reliable;The setting of the isolation frame 54 keeps the cylinder 55 away from the rotating tank 3, so as to prevent the cylinder 55 from operating in a high temperature environment for a long time, thereby increasing its service life. ;

[0032] The present invention also discloses a process for processing lithium battery powder using the horizontal mixing kiln, which is characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0033] S1, start the power supply to make the hollow copper tube 7 perform medium frequency induction heating on the rotating tank 3 of the first group of heating devices 34, and at the same time inject nitrogen into the rotating tank 3 through the air inlet pipe 5, and discharge the oxygen in the rotating tank 3 through the exhaust pipe 4;

[0034] S2. When the oxygen concentration in the rotating tank 3 is detected to be 0 by the oxygen sensor 42, the hopper 49 of the first group of heating devices 34 is opened, so that the lithium battery powder raw material enters the rotating tank 3 through the feeding pipe 24. During this process, the medium frequency induction heating structure 6 continuously heats the rotating tank 3, so that the lithium battery powder raw material is continuously heated and the impurities therein are evaporated;

[0035] During the heating process of S3 and S2, the driving motor 27 is started, and the feeding inclined cone 18, the rotating tank 3 and the discharging inclined cone 19 are driven to rotate forwardly through the cooperation of the motor sprocket 28, the chain and the inclined cone sprocket 26. During the rotation, the lithium battery powder raw material is dynamically and evenly mixed and heated, so that the impurities and moisture in the lithium battery powder raw material during high-temperature sintering evaporate and exhaust gas is discharged through the exhaust pipe 4;

[0036] In S4 and S3, the second group of heating devices 35 preheats the rotating tank 3 through the medium frequency induction heating structure 6, and at the same time, nitrogen is added to the rotating tank 3 to exhaust oxygen. After the first group of heating devices 34 heats and sinters the lithium battery powder raw material, the cylinder 55 is driven to open the discharge tongue 57 of the first group of heating devices 34. At the same time, the driving motor 27 of the first group of heating devices 34 is reversed to drive the feed inclined cone 18, the rotating tank 3 and the discharge inclined cone 19 to rotate in the opposite direction. The lithium battery powder raw material is lifted by the guide plate 40 to the discharge ring 22 and enters the feed pipe 24 of the second group of heating devices 35 and the rotating tank 3 through the discharge hopper 25 and the connecting pipe 50 for secondary heating and curing to remove impurities and waste gas. After the heating is completed, the obtained lithium battery powder is transported to the cooling device 1 in the same way;

[0037] S5. The driving motor 27 of the cooling device 1 is started to drive the feeding inclined cone 18, the rotating tank 3 and the discharging inclined cone 19 to rotate forwardly. The water inlet pipe 10 transports cold water to the horizontal water pipe 13 and sprays it to the outer surfaces of the feeding inclined cone 18, the rotating tank 3 and the discharging inclined cone 19 through the spray head 14 to cool the high-temperature lithium battery powder in the rotating tank 3. At the same time, the cold air inlet pipe 16 inputs cold air into the cooling box, and the hot air outlet pipe 17 discharges the hot air in the cooling box to the outside until the lithium battery powder is completely cooled. The driving motor 27 of the cooling device 1 is reversed to drive the feeding inclined cone 18, the rotating tank 3 and the discharging inclined cone 19 to rotate in the opposite direction, and drives the cylinder 55 to open the discharging tongue 57 of the cooling device 1. The cooled lithium battery powder is lifted by the guide plate 40 to the discharging ring 22 and discharged through the discharging hopper 25.

[0038] The heating temperature in S1 is 80-100 degrees; the heating temperature in S2 and S3 is 450-500 degrees, the heating time is 1-3h, and the exhaust gas is discharged at intervals during the heating process. At the same time, the positive pressure in the rotating tank 3 is maintained at ≥20Pa according to the signal of the pressure difference sensor 43; the preheating temperature in S4 is greater than 450 degrees, the secondary heating and curing temperature is 800-850 degrees, and the secondary heating and curing time is 2-3h; the cooling time in S5 is 3h; in S4, the first group of heating devices 34 transports all the lithium battery powder raw materials to the second group of heating devices 35, and then closes the discharge tongue 57 of the feed pipe 24 of the second group of heating devices 35, and the medium frequency induction heating structure 6 of the first group of heating devices 34 stops working until the temperature in the rotating tank 3 drops to <200 degrees, and then new lithium battery powder raw materials are added, and this cycle is repeated until all lithium battery powder raw materials are continuously processed.

[0039] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as a preferred embodiment as above, it is not used to limit the present invention. Any technical personnel in this field can make some changes or modify the technical contents disclosed above into equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. However, any brief modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention are still within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A horizontal mixing kiln, characterized by: It includes a horizontally arranged heating device and a cooling device which are connected in sequence from top to bottom. Both the heating device and the cooling device are equipped with a support, and the supports are stacked up and down. Both the heating device and the cooling device have a rotating tank which can move on the support. A mixing structure is arranged in the rotating tank, and a feeding assembly and an air inlet pipe are arranged at one end of the rotating tank, and a discharging assembly and an exhaust pipe are arranged at the other end of the rotating tank.

2. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one group of heating devices is provided, and the heating device includes a medium frequency induction heating structure, and the medium frequency induction heating structure includes a hollow copper tube surrounding the outer ring of the rotating tank, a coolant in the hollow copper tube, and a power supply connected to the hollow copper tube.

3. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cooling device includes a water cooling box body that wraps around the rotating tank. A water inlet pipe is provided at the upper end of the water cooling box body, and a water accumulation pot and a water outlet pipe are provided at the lower end. The water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe are externally connected to a chiller. A transverse water pipe located inside the water cooling box body is provided at the lower end of the water inlet pipe. The transverse water pipe is provided with a plurality of spray heads facing the rotating tank. A cold air inlet pipe is connected to the left side of the upper end of the water cooling box body, and a hot air outlet pipe is connected to the right side.

4. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 3, characterized in that: The rotating tank has a feed oblique cone on one side and a discharge oblique cone on the other side. The feed oblique cone is connected to the feed component, and the discharge oblique cone is connected to the discharge component. The feed component includes a fixedly connected feed ring and a feed flange, and the discharge component includes a fixedly connected discharge ring and a discharge flange. The feed flange and the discharge flange are fixedly connected to the support. The feed ring is provided with a feed pipe, and the discharge ring is provided with a discharge hopper.

5. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 4, characterized in that: The feed inclined cone is sleeved with multiple inclined cone sprockets, the support is provided with a driving motor, the rotating shaft of the driving motor is provided with a motor sprocket aligned with the inclined cone sprocket, the motor sprocket and the inclined cone sprocket are linked and driven by a chain, the feed inclined cone and the discharging inclined cone are both provided with circular rings, the support is provided with multiple supporting wheels that can rest on the circular rings, thin-walled bearings and multiple graphite packing sealing assemblies are provided between the feed ring and the feed inclined cone, and between the discharging ring and the discharging inclined cone, the feed ring and the discharging ring are provided with oil passages communicated with the corresponding graphite packing sealing assemblies, the oil passage inlet is provided with an oil injection nozzle, the inner rings of the feed ring and the discharging ring are both provided with multiple circles of first grooves, the feed inclined cone and the discharging inclined cone are both provided with multiple circles of second grooves that are staggered and communicated with the first grooves, the feed ring and the discharging ring are provided with air passages communicated with the first groove of the outermost circle, and the air passage inlet is provided with an air injection nozzle.

6. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 5, characterized in that: There are two groups of heating devices, namely a first group of heating devices and a second group of heating devices. The feed pipe of the first group of heating devices is connected to the hopper, and the first group of heating devices is placed on the second group of heating devices, and the second group of heating devices is placed on the third group of cooling devices. The feed pipe is tilted upward, and the discharge hopper is tilted downward. The discharge hopper of the first group of heating devices is connected to the feed pipe of the second group of heating devices through a connecting pipe, and the discharge hopper of the second group of heating devices is connected to the feed pipe of the third group of cooling devices through a connecting pipe.

7. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that: The mixing structure comprises a first spiral blade and a second spiral blade with opposite spiral directions, the outer ring of the first spiral blade is welded and fixed to the inner wall of the rotating tank, the outer diameter of the second spiral blade is smaller than the inner diameter of the first spiral blade, and the outer ring of the second spiral blade and the inner ring of the first spiral blade are connected by a plurality of connecting rods, the discharging inclined cone has a discharging port, the inner wall of the discharging inclined cone is provided with a plurality of guide plates, the guide plates extend from the right end of the discharging inclined cone to the position of the discharging port, the guide plates are arc-shaped as a whole, and the angle between the guide plates and the inner wall of the discharging inclined cone is an acute angle, the guide plates and the discharging inclined cone form a feeding trough, the inner wall of the discharging flange is provided with a transition ring, the middle of the transition ring bulges toward the inner ring to form a folded angle, one side of the transition ring smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the discharging inclined cone, and the other side smoothly transitions to the inner wall of the discharging hopper, the discharging hopper is provided with an isolation frame, the outer end of the isolation frame is provided with a cylinder, the driving rod of the cylinder is inserted into the discharging hopper, and the other end of the driving rod is provided with a discharging tongue that can be rested on the transition ring.

8. A horizontal mixing kiln according to claim 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that: The air inlet pipe is connected with the feed pipe, and the exhaust pipe is connected with the discharge ring. The feed ring is provided with a temperature sensor inserted into the feed inclined cone, the feed pipe is provided with a pressure difference sensor, and the exhaust pipe is provided with an oxygen sensor. Water retaining rings are provided at both ends of the water cooling box body, and high-temperature resistant sealing gaskets are provided between the water retaining ring and the water cooling box body, which are against the feed inclined cone and the discharge inclined cone. The outer ring of the rotating tank of the heating device is provided with a heat insulation material layer.

9. The process of processing lithium battery powder using the horizontal mixing kiln is characterized by: The following steps are involved: S1, start the power supply to make the hollow copper tube perform medium frequency induction heating on the rotating tank of the first group of heating devices, and at the same time inject nitrogen into the rotating tank through the air inlet pipe, and discharge the oxygen in the rotating tank through the exhaust pipe; S2. When the oxygen concentration in the rotating tank is detected to be 0 by the oxygen sensor, the hopper of the first group of heating devices is opened to allow the lithium battery powder raw material to enter the rotating tank through the feeding pipe. During this process, the medium frequency induction heating structure continuously heats the rotating tank, so that the lithium battery powder raw material is continuously heated and the impurities therein are evaporated; During the heating process of S3 and S2, the driving motor is started, and the feeding inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone are driven to rotate forward through the cooperation of the motor sprocket, the chain and the inclined cone sprocket. During the rotation, the lithium battery powder raw materials are dynamically and evenly mixed and heated, so that the impurities and moisture in the lithium battery powder raw materials during high-temperature sintering evaporate and exhaust gas is discharged through the exhaust pipe; In S4 and S3, the second group of heating devices preheats the rotating tank through the medium frequency induction heating structure, and at the same time, nitrogen is added to the rotating tank to exhaust oxygen. After the first group of heating devices heats and sinters the lithium battery powder raw materials, the cylinder is driven to open the discharge tongue of the first group of heating devices. At the same time, the driving motor of the first group of heating devices reverses to drive the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharge inclined cone to rotate in the opposite direction. The lithium battery powder raw materials are lifted by the guide plate to the discharge ring and enter the feed pipe and the rotating tank of the second group of heating devices through the discharge hopper and the connecting pipe for secondary heating and curing to remove impurities and waste gas. After the heating is completed, the obtained lithium battery powder is transported to the cooling device in the same way; S5. The driving motor of the cooling device starts to drive the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone to rotate forwardly. The water inlet pipe transports cold water to the horizontal water pipe and sprays it to the outer surface of the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone through the sprinkler head to cool the high-temperature lithium battery powder in the rotating tank. At the same time, the cold air inlet pipe inputs cold air into the cooling box, and the hot air outlet pipe discharges the hot air in the cooling box to the outside until the lithium battery powder is completely cooled. The driving motor of the cooling device reverses to drive the feed inclined cone, the rotating tank and the discharging inclined cone to rotate in the opposite direction, and drives the cylinder to open the discharging tongue of the cooling device. The cooled lithium battery powder is lifted by the guide plate to the discharging ring and discharged through the discharging hopper.

10. The process for processing lithium battery powder according to claim 9, characterized in that: The heating temperature in S1 is 80-100 degrees; the heating temperature in S2 and S3 is 450-500 degrees, the heating time is 1-3h, and the exhaust gas is discharged at intervals during the heating process. At the same time, the positive pressure in the rotating tank is maintained at ≥20Pa according to the signal of the pressure difference sensor; the preheating temperature in S4 is greater than 450 degrees, the secondary heating and curing temperature is 800-850 degrees, and the secondary heating and curing time is 2-3h; the cooling time in S5 is 3h; in S4, the first group of heating devices transports all the lithium battery powder raw materials to the second group of heating devices, and then closes the discharge tongue of the feed pipe of the second group of heating devices, and the medium-frequency induction heating structure of the first group of heating devices stops working until the temperature in the rotating tank drops to less than 200 degrees, and then new lithium battery powder raw materials are added, and this process is repeated until all lithium battery powder raw materials are continuously processed.

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