Fluid stirring equipment and application thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses fluid stirring equipment and application thereof. The fluid stirring equipment comprises a stirring barrel and a plurality of nozzles, at least part of the nozzles are located on the inner side wall of the stirring barrel, outlets of the nozzles face inwards, and the nozzles are connected with a pipeline with a pump, so that fluid materials are pumped to the nozzles through the pipeline and sprayed out towards the interior of the stirring barrel through the nozzles, rotational flow is formed in the stirring barrel, and the materials in the stirring barrel are stirred to achieve stirring of the fluid materials. According to the fluid stirring equipment and the application thereof, materials in the barrel can be stirred without blades, the situation that metal compounds are attached to the blades to cause non-uniform stirring is avoided, a sensor for measuring the pH value and the temperature can also be placed at any position according to needs, and the stirring speed is high. Therefore, the pH value and temperature of each position can be accurately measured, and the reaction quality and efficiency are remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of industrial equipment, and particularly to a fluid stirring device and its application. Background Art

[0002] Currently, in industrial production, most fluid stirring devices use the method of driving the blades to rotate by an electric motor. In actual work, the blade structure can be designed accordingly according to different materials and application scenarios, and there are already dozens of them.

[0003] Although the blade method is simple, it is not convenient to use in some cases. For example, when recycling the cathode material of a battery, metal ion compounds in the multi-metal solution are easily attached to the blades, resulting in uneven stirring and affecting the rotation efficiency of the blades. Moreover, the requirements for acidity, alkalinity, and temperature are different during the reaction of various compounds. This requires placing corresponding sensors at multiple positions of the device, but the structure of the rotating blades affects the placement positions of the sensors, resulting in some positions where sensors cannot be placed, thus unable to accurately measure the acidity, alkalinity, and temperature at this position, reducing the quality and efficiency of the reaction. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a fluid stirring device and its application that can improve the stirring quality.

[0005] The technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows: A fluid stirring device includes a stirring barrel and a plurality of nozzles. At least part of the nozzles are located at the inner side wall of the stirring barrel, with the outlets facing inwards, and are connected to a pipeline with a pump, so that the fluid material is pumped through the pipeline to the nozzles and sprayed into the interior of the stirring barrel by the nozzles, forming a swirling flow in the stirring barrel to stir the material in the stirring barrel to achieve the stirring of the fluid material.

[0006] Preferably, there are at least three nozzles, which are evenly distributed along the circumference and have substantially the same angle in the horizontal direction.

[0007] Preferably, in the vertical direction, the uppermost nozzle faces downwards and the lowermost nozzle faces upwards, so that the material in the stirring barrel forms a downward swirling flow and an upward swirling flow respectively.

[0008] Preferably, part of the nozzles are located at the center of the stirring barrel, with the outlets facing outwards, and together with the nozzles located at the inner side wall of the stirring barrel, form a swirling flow.

[0009] Preferably, a discharge port is provided at the bottom of the stirring barrel, and the plurality of nozzles are communicated with the discharge port through a pipeline, so that the fluid material in the stirring barrel returns to the stirring barrel through the discharge port and the pipeline and the nozzles; or the pipeline is connected to a raw material barrel, so that the raw material directly enters the stirring barrel through the nozzles.

[0010] Preferably, the fluid is an emulsion, and the nozzle is set at a certain spraying pressure so that the fluid ejected from each nozzle forms tributaries during the forward movement.

[0011] Preferably, the stirring tank is further connected to another stirring tank, a heating device or a cooling device, which are respectively used for multi-stage treatment, heating or cooling of the material.

[0012] A method for preparing a cathode material of a battery includes: stirring a metal ion raw material according to a required ratio by using the fluid stirring device as described above, and obtaining a cathode material precursor through a chemical reaction, or directly synthesizing a cathode material mixture by adding a lithium salt during the stirring process.

[0013] Preferably, at least part of the metal ion raw material comes from waste batteries.

[0014] A method for battery carbon recovery includes: filtering the raw material obtained after rough separation of waste batteries by using a first fluid stirring device, the solid obtained by filtering forms a carbon material, and the liquid obtained by filtering flows into a second fluid stirring device for stirring and then generates a copper compound through a chemical reaction. Both the first fluid stirring device and the second fluid stirring device are the fluid stirring devices as described above.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the fluid stirring device and its application of the present invention, by arranging a plurality of nozzles, at least part of the nozzles are located at the inner side wall of the stirring tank, the outlet faces inward, and are connected to a pipeline with a pump, so that the fluid material is pumped to the nozzle through the pipeline and ejected into the stirring tank by the nozzle, forming a swirl flow in the stirring tank, stirring the material in the stirring tank to realize the stirring of the fluid material, so that the material in the tank can be stirred without blades, and the situation that metal compounds adhere to the blades and cause uneven stirring will not occur. The sensors for measuring the pH value and temperature can also be placed at any position according to needs, so that the pH value and temperature at each position can be accurately measured, and the quality and efficiency of the reaction are significantly improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the fluid stirring device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is Figure 1 a three-dimensional view of the shown fluid stirring device (the pump and the connecting pipeline are not drawn); Figure 3 is Figure 2 the front view of the fluid stirring device shown; Figure 4 is Figure 3 the sectional view taken along A - A; Figure 5 is Figure 2 the top view of the fluid stirring device shown; Figure 6 is Figure 5 the sectional view taken along B - B; Figure 7 is Figure 2 the top view of the fluid movement when the fluid stirring device shown is operating; Figure 8 is Figure 2 the front view of the fluid movement when the fluid stirring device shown is operating; Figure 9 is the schematic structural diagram of the fluid stirring device according to another embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10 is Figure 1 the schematic diagram of another implementation manner of the fluid stirring device shown; Figure 11 is Figure 1 the schematic diagram of yet another implementation manner of the fluid stirring device shown; Figure 12 is Figure 1 the schematic flow diagram of the fluid stirring device shown applied to the method for preparing battery cathode materials; Figure 13 is Figure 1 the schematic flow diagram of the fluid stirring device shown applied to the battery carbon recycling method. Specific Embodiments

[0018] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in this application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0019] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly disposed on the other element; when an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected to the other element.

[0020] It should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present application 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 thus should not be construed as a limitation to the present application.

[0021] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" and "several" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0022] It should be noted that the structures, ratios, sizes, etc. shown in the drawings of this specification are only used to cooperate with the content disclosed in the specification for those skilled in this technology to understand and read, and are not used to limit the implementable conditions of the present application. Therefore, they do not have a substantial technical meaning. Any modification of the structure, change of the ratio relationship, or adjustment of the size, without affecting the efficacy that the present application can produce and the purpose that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope covered by the technical content disclosed in the present application.

[0023] As Figures 1 to 8 shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fluid stirring device for stirring fluids, especially suitable for emulsions, such as battery cathode material precursors, mixed solutions of battery cathode material precursors and lithium salts, lithium battery recycling materials, carbon purification solutions, lead oxide solutions, and so on.

[0024] The fluid stirring device includes a stirring barrel 1, a plurality of nozzles 2, a pump 3, and a pipeline 4. The nozzles 2 are located at the inner sidewall of the stirring barrel 1, with the outlets facing inward, and are connected to the pipeline 4 with the pump 3, so that the fluid material is pumped through the pipeline 4 to the nozzles 2 and sprayed into the interior of the stirring barrel 1 by the nozzles 2, forming a swirling flow in the stirring barrel 1 to stir the material in the stirring barrel 1 to achieve the stirring of the fluid material.

[0025] In this embodiment, the material in the stirring barrel 1 can be put in from above, and a discharge port is provided at the bottom.

[0026] In this embodiment, the pipeline 4 includes a discharge port connecting pipeline 41, a nozzle connecting pipeline 42, and an intermediate pipeline 43. One end of the discharge port connecting pipeline 41 is connected to the discharge port at the bottom of the stirring barrel 1, and the other end is connected to the intermediate pipeline 43. The nozzle connecting pipeline 42 passes through the side wall of the stirring barrel 1, with the inner end connected to the nozzle 2 and the outer end connected to the intermediate pipeline 43. In this way, the nozzle 2 is communicated with the discharge port through the pipeline 4, so that the fluid material in the stirring barrel 1 returns to the stirring barrel 1 through the discharge port, the pipeline 4, and the nozzle 2.

[0027] In this embodiment, there are three nozzles 2, which are evenly distributed along the circumference and have substantially the same angle in the horizontal direction (such as Figure 4 ). In the vertical direction, the upper nozzle 21 at the uppermost end faces downward, the lower nozzle 23 at the lowermost end faces upward, and the middle nozzle 22 in the middle is horizontal (or can also be adjusted to face upward or downward according to actual needs), so that the material in the stirring barrel 1 forms a downward swirl and an upward swirl respectively (such as Figure 6 and Figure 8 ).

[0028] The nozzle 2 is set to a certain spraying pressure, so that the fluid ejected from each nozzle 2 forms tributaries during the advancing process (such as Figure 7 ), which promotes the rotation of the emulsion (if the pressure is too small, it cannot be pushed, and if the pressure is too large, it will break through and cannot make it rotate), which is beneficial to full stirring. As for the specific pressure, it needs to be determined according to the specific material type of the emulsion and related physical parameters (such as concentration, temperature, etc.).

[0029] Such as Figure 9 shown, multiple central nozzles 24 can also be provided in the center of the stirring barrel 1 (the central nozzles 24 can also be connected to the discharge port through the central pipeline 44 and the intermediate pipeline 43). The outlet of the central nozzle 24 faces outward, and together with the nozzles 2 located at the inner side wall of the stirring barrel 1, a swirl is formed.

[0030] The number, angle, position, and arrangement of the nozzles 2 can all be determined according to the shape and size of the stirring barrel 1 and the material and physical parameters of the material. For example, if the stirring barrel 1 is tall and thin (i.e., large in height but small in width), then a larger number of nozzles 2 are arranged in the vertical direction. If the stirring barrel 1 is short and fat (i.e., small in height but large in width), then it can be considered to set the nozzles 2 in the center of the stirring barrel 1. The angle of the nozzle 2 can also be adjusted according to factors such as the material and concentration. Moreover, a rotating mechanism can be provided between the nozzle 2 and the nozzle connecting pipeline 42, so that the nozzle 2 can adjust the angle to adapt to different materials and expand the application range of this fluid stirring device. If there are many materials in the material and different materials are located in multiple layers of the stirring barrel 1, then a larger number of nozzles 2 also need to be arranged in the vertical direction.

[0031] Such as Figure 10As shown, the pipeline 4 can also be connected to the raw material barrel 5, enabling the raw materials to directly enter the stirring barrel 1 through the nozzle 2. Of course, in this case, switches need to be set between the pipeline 4, the raw material barrel 5, and the discharge port to control the materials entering the stirring barrel 1 through the nozzle 2. For example, the material in the stirring barrel 1 can be the cathode material of waste lithium batteries, while the raw material in the raw material barrel 5 is the new cathode material of lithium batteries, so that the material in the final stirring barrel 1 reaches the required proportion. The material in the stirring barrel 1 can also be the precursor of the cathode material of lithium batteries, while the raw material in the raw material barrel 5 is lithium salt, so that the material in the final stirring barrel 1 reaches the required proportion of the cathode material, and the cathode material is prepared after mixing.

[0032] As Figure 11 shown, the stirring barrel 1 can also be connected to other devices 6 upstream and downstream thereof, such as another stirring barrel, a heating device or a cooling device ( Figure 11 being downstream), which are respectively used for multi-stage treatment, heating or cooling of the material. For example, in some elemental synthesis reaction scenarios, it is necessary to heat the material in the stirring barrel to accelerate the reaction of the material to control the particle size. At this time, a heating device can be connected to the stirring barrel to heat the material in the stirring barrel. In addition, in some elemental synthesis reaction scenarios, it is necessary to cool the material in the stirring barrel to slow down the reaction of the material to control the particle size. At this time, a cooling device can be connected to the stirring barrel to cool the material in the stirring barrel.

[0033] As Figure 12 shown, applying the fluid stirring equipment of this embodiment to the method for preparing the cathode material of a battery specifically, the method includes: according to the required proportion, using the fluid stirring equipment 7 to stir the metal ion raw materials and obtain the precursor of the cathode material through a chemical reaction, or adding lithium salt directly during the stirring process to synthesize the cathode material mixture. These metal ion raw materials can at least partially come from waste batteries.

[0034] The specific method for preparing the cathode material of a battery includes the following steps.

[0035] Step 11: Place the main reaction element liquid such as Fe-based into the main barrel (the stirring barrel in the fluid stirring equipment 7), adjust the pH to 3 with acid and alkali, discharge and filter, and return the liquid to the main barrel.

[0036] Step 12: Add the second element to the main barrel, such as: Fe:Ni 1:1, Fe:Co:Ni 1:1:1. The addition amount can be controlled and adjusted according to the proportion required by the user to make the elements in the main barrel evenly mixed.

[0037] Step 13: Add the reaction solution to the main barrel, such as NaOH. The addition amount can be controlled and adjusted according to the user's ratio. Adding different reaction solutions by the user may cause overheating or overcooling, and the hot and cold controller will be activated. The reaction changes from acidic to neutral or slightly alkaline, and at the same time, precursors in an emulsified state are easily formed at this stage.

[0038] Step 14: After the main precursor reaction is completed, filter and dry to obtain the powder, or finally add a mixture containing Li element, then filter and dry to obtain the powder. The filtered liquid is reserved for the next reaction.

[0039] As Figure 13 shown, the fluid stirring equipment of this embodiment is specifically applied to the battery carbon recovery method. The method includes: the raw materials obtained after the rough separation of waste batteries are stirred in the first fluid stirring equipment 8 and then filtered. The solid obtained by filtration forms a carbon material, and the liquid obtained by filtration flows into the second fluid stirring equipment 9 and is stirred and then reacts chemically to generate copper compounds. Both the first fluid stirring equipment 8 and the second fluid stirring equipment 9 can adopt the fluid stirring equipment as described above.

[0040] The specific battery carbon recovery method includes the following steps.

[0041] Step 21: The recovered carbon usually contains carbon and trace copper foil materials. Place the recovered carbon into the first reaction barrel (the stirring barrel in the first fluid stirring equipment 8), add acid solution to react and dissolve copper and other metal elements, and after discharging and filtering, place the multi-metal solution containing copper into the second reaction barrel (the stirring barrel in the second fluid stirring equipment 9). The first reaction barrel continuously reacts to recover the carbon material.

[0042] Step 22: After the multi-metal solution containing copper in the second reaction barrel reacts, obtain copper compounds, such as powders of copper hydroxide, cuprous chlorite, etc., and obtain the powder after filtration and drying. The filtered liquid is reserved for the next reaction.

[0043] Step 23: Dry the carbon obtained in Step 21.

[0044] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to implement or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention will not be limited to these embodiments shown herein, but rather to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A fluid stirring device, characterized in that: It includes a mixing barrel and a plurality of nozzles, at least some of which are located on the inner wall of the mixing barrel, with outlets facing inward and connected to a pipeline with a pump, so that the fluid material is pumped to the nozzle through the pipeline and sprayed toward the inside of the mixing barrel by the nozzle, forming a vortex in the mixing barrel, stirring the material in the mixing barrel to achieve stirring of the fluid material.

2. The fluid stirring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are at least three nozzles, which are evenly distributed along the circumference and have substantially the same angles in the horizontal direction.

3. The fluid stirring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the vertical direction, the uppermost nozzle faces downwards, and the lowermost nozzle faces upwards, so that the materials in the mixing barrel form a downward vortex and an upward vortex respectively.

4. The fluid stirring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Some of the nozzles are located in the center of the mixing barrel, with the outlets facing outwards, and together with the nozzles located on the inner wall of the mixing barrel, a swirl is formed.

5. The fluid stirring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A discharge port is provided at the bottom of the mixing barrel, and the plurality of nozzles are connected to the discharge port through a pipeline, so that the fluid material in the mixing barrel returns to the mixing barrel through the discharge port through the pipeline and the nozzle; or the pipeline is also connected to the raw material barrel, so that the raw material directly enters the mixing barrel through the nozzle.

6. The fluid stirring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fluid is an emulsion, and the nozzles are set to a certain spraying pressure so that the fluid sprayed from each nozzle forms a branch flow during the forward process.

7. The fluid stirring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stirring barrel is also connected to another stirring barrel, a heating device or a cooling device, which are used for multi-stage processing, heating or cooling of the materials respectively.

8. A method for preparing a positive electrode material for a battery, characterized in that: include: The metal ion raw materials are stirred in a fluid stirring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 according to the required proportions to obtain a positive electrode material precursor through a chemical reaction, or lithium salt is added during the stirring process to directly synthesize a positive electrode material mixture.

9. The method for preparing a positive electrode material for a battery according to claim 8, characterized in that: The metal ion raw material is at least partially derived from waste batteries.

10. A battery carbon recovery method, characterized in that: include: The raw materials obtained after the rough separation of waste batteries are stirred in a first fluid stirring device and then filtered, and the solid obtained by filtration forms a carbon material. The liquid obtained by filtration flows into a second fluid stirring device and is stirred and then generates copper compounds through chemical reactions. The first fluid stirring device and the second fluid stirring device are both fluid stirring devices as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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