Microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material

Abstract

The utility model provides a microwave dryer for a lithium battery anode material, which comprises an activation hopper, a distributor and a drying box which are sequentially arranged along the conveying direction of a conveyor belt, a crusher is mounted at a discharge port of the activation hopper, and a medium efficiency filter is mounted at an air inlet at the bottom of the drying box. A moisture exhaust fan is installed at a moisture exhaust opening in the top of the drying box, and a microwave generator is installed in the drying box. According to the utility model, the crusher and the distributor are arranged, so that materials with different sizes can be crushed into materials with consistent granularity, the microwave penetrating power and the heating uniformity are improved, and local crushing of the conveyor belt is reduced. And the microwave generator is periodically started through the arranged temperature sensor, so that the energy consumption is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a microwave dryer for lithium battery cathode materials, belonging to the technical field of bearing seals. Background Technique

[0002] Lithium battery materials are mainly divided into four key materials and auxiliary materials such as conductive agents, dispersants, binders, copper foils / aluminum foils. Among them, the four key materials consist of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an electrolyte, and a separator. Among them, the positive electrode material is the core material of the lithium battery, which determines many core performances of the battery such as energy density, voltage, service life, and safety, and is also the most costly part of the lithium battery material cost. In the heating and drying process, the conventional electric heating method not only consumes a large amount of energy, the material is unevenly heated, but also introduces foreign substances, which affect the service life and safety of the battery. Therefore, this process is one of the most important links. The existing microwave dryers for lithium battery cathode materials still have the following problems:

[0003] 1. The microwave belt is made of polytetrafluoroethylene material. When the particle size of the material is greater than 1 cm, local breakage will occur on the surface of the tetrafluoro belt.

[0004] 2. The feeding crushing device is generally made of metal material, and a large amount of metal substances will be introduced into the material during the crushing process. Content of the Utility Model

[0005] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the utility model provides a microwave dryer for lithium battery cathode materials to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art.

[0006] The technical solution of the utility model: A microwave dryer for lithium battery cathode materials includes an activation hopper, a distributor, and a drying box arranged in sequence along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt. A crusher is installed at the discharge port of the activation hopper, a medium-efficiency filter is installed at the bottom air inlet of the drying box, a dehumidification fan is installed at the top moisture discharge port of the drying box, and a microwave generator is installed in the drying box.

[0007] Furthermore, an infrared glass heating tube is arranged at the tail end of the conveyor belt.

[0008] Furthermore, the drying box is divided into three drying areas: a primary drying chamber, a secondary drying chamber, and a tertiary drying chamber. A microwave generator, a temperature sensor, a lighting lamp, and a camera are installed in each drying area.

[0009] Furthermore, the side walls of the primary drying chamber, the secondary drying chamber, and the tertiary drying chamber are all rotatably connected to a box door through hinges, and a door lock and a proximity switch are installed on the box door respectively.

[0010] Furthermore, the crushing part of the crusher consists of a plastic housing and a nylon screw. The nylon screw is driven by a motor and rotatably installed in the plastic housing. The surface of the plastic housing is evenly distributed with discharge holes.

[0011] Furthermore, the distributor includes a bracket, on which an adjusting bolt is threadedly connected, and a baffle is fixedly connected to the lower end of the adjusting bolt.

[0012] Furthermore, microwave suppressors are installed at both the inlet and outlet of the drying oven.

[0013] Due to the adoption of the above technical solutions, the advantages of the present utility model are as follows: The present utility model is provided with a crusher and a distributor, which can crush materials of different sizes into materials with consistent particle sizes, improve the microwave penetration ability and heating uniformity, and reduce local crushing of the conveyor belt. And through the temperature sensor provided, the microwave generator is periodically started, reducing energy consumption. In addition, the present utility model gradually raises the temperature of the cathode material through three drying zones, preventing the local damage of the conveyor belt caused by the overheating of small-particle cathode materials, and improving the microwave penetration ability and heating uniformity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the present utility model.

[0015] Description of the reference numerals: 1 - activation hopper; 2 - crusher; 201 - plastic housing; 202 - nylon screw; 3 - distributor; 301 - adjusting bolt; 302 - baffle; 303 - bracket; 4 - conveyor belt; 5 - microwave suppressor; 6 - primary drying chamber; 7 - microwave generator; 8 - temperature sensor; 9 - lighting lamp; 10 - camera; 11 - box door; 1101 - door lock; 1102 - hinge; 1103 - proximity switch; 12 - secondary drying chamber; 13 - tertiary drying chamber; 14 - drying oven; 15 - infrared glass heating tube; 16 - moisture exhaust fan; 17 - moisture exhaust fan; 18 -. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0016] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

[0017] Embodiment

[0018] See Figure 1, A microwave dryer for a lithium battery cathode material of the present utility model includes an activation hopper 1, a distributor 3, and a drying chamber 14 arranged in sequence along the conveying direction of a conveyor belt 4. A crusher 2 is installed at the discharge port of the activation hopper 1, a medium - efficiency filter 18 is installed at the bottom air inlet of the drying chamber 14, a moisture - exhaust fan 17 is installed at the top moisture - exhaust port 16 of the drying chamber 14, and a microwave generator 7 is installed inside the drying chamber 14. The conveyor belt 4 rotates clockwise and runs through the entire drying chamber 14, continuously conveying materials into the drying chamber 14.

[0019] An infrared glass heating tube 15 is also arranged at the tail end of the conveyor belt 4, which can be used to assist in heating the materials, further ensuring that the moisture content of the materials meets the process requirements.

[0020] The drying chamber 14 is divided into three drying areas: a primary drying chamber 6, a secondary drying chamber 12, and a tertiary drying chamber 13. A microwave generator 7, a temperature sensor 8, a lighting lamp 9, and a camera 10 are installed in each drying area.

[0021] Doors 11 are rotatably connected to the side walls of the primary drying chamber 6, the secondary drying chamber 12, and the tertiary drying chamber 13 through hinges 1102. A door lock 1101 and a proximity switch 1103 are respectively installed on the door 11. After the door 11 is opened, the proximity switch 1103 is turned on, and the microwave generator 7 will not work, effectively saving energy and protecting the environment.

[0022] The crushing part of the crusher 2 consists of a plastic housing 201 and a nylon screw 202. The nylon screw 202 is driven by a motor and is rotatably installed inside the plastic housing 201. Discharge holes are evenly distributed on the surface of the plastic housing 201. When the nylon screw 201 rotates, it squeezes the materials, and the materials are discharged through the discharge holes distributed on the surface of the plastic housing 202. The generated small - particle cathode materials fall onto the surface of the conveyor belt 4.

[0023] The distributor 3 includes a bracket 303. An adjusting bolt 301 is threadedly connected to the bracket 303, and a baffle 302 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the adjusting bolt 301. In this way, the thickness and uniformity of the cathode materials on the conveyor belt 4 can be adjusted according to the process requirements, ensuring that the thickness and speed of the materials entering the drying chamber 14 reach the optimal drying efficiency.

[0024] Microwave suppressors 5 are installed at both the feed inlet and the discharge outlet of the drying chamber 14 to prevent microwave leakage and cause harm to the staff.

[0025] All electrical devices in the present utility model, such as motors, microwave generators 7, temperature sensors 8, lighting lamps 9, cameras 10, and proximity switches 1103, etc., are uniformly controlled in coordination through a host computer.

[0026] Working principle of the utility model:

[0027] When starting to work, put the large-particle cathode material into the activation hopper 1. It enters the crusher 2 through the activation hopper 1. The nylon screw 201 runs to extrude the material, and the material is discharged through the discharge holes distributed on the surface of the plastic housing 202. The generated small-particle cathode material falls onto the surface of the conveyor belt 4.

[0028] At this time, adjust the transmission speed of the conveyor belt 4. The conveyor belt 4 drives the cathode material to move towards the cloth feeder 3. At this time, adjust the height of the baffle 302 to ensure that the thickness and speed of the material entering the drying oven 14 reach the optimal drying efficiency.

[0029] After the cathode material enters the drying oven 14 through the conveyor belt 4, start the microwave generator 7 in the primary drying chamber 6 to heat and dry the small-particle cathode material on the surface of the conveyor belt 4. The small-particle cathode material can effectively prevent local damage of the conveyor belt 4 caused by excessive temperature rise of the material, and improve the microwave penetration ability and heating uniformity.

[0030] Open the dehumidifying fan 16 to form a slight negative pressure inside the drying oven 14, and extract the water vapor generated during drying from the dehumidifying port 16 at the top of the drying oven 14, which can avoid the accumulation of condensed water inside the drying oven 14 and corrosion of the drying oven 14. A medium-efficiency filter 18 is provided at the air inlet at the bottom of the drying oven 14 to prevent foreign objects in the external environment from entering the drying oven 14 and affecting the material quality.

[0031] During the drying process, turn on the lighting lamp 9, judge whether the water vapor generated during drying is discharged through the monitoring screen obtained by the camera 10, observe the material conveying position, and then turn on the microwave generators 7 in the secondary drying chamber 12 and the tertiary drying chamber 13 in sequence.

[0032] Three temperature sensors 8 are respectively arranged inside the drying oven 14 to monitor the surface temperatures of the material in the primary drying chamber 6, the secondary drying chamber 12, and the tertiary drying chamber 13, and feed them back to the host computer. The start and stop of the microwave generator 7 are controlled in real time through the host computer, so that the microwave generator 7 runs periodically, which not only reduces the energy consumption of the microwave generator 7, but also ensures that the surface temperature of the material does not exceed the process requirements. A group of infrared glass heating tubes 15 are also provided behind the drying oven 14 to assist in heating the material and further ensure that the moisture content of the material meets the process requirements.

[0033] After a microwave heating is completed, the door lock 1102 can be unlocked, and the box door 11 is opened to clean the inside of the drying oven 14. After the box door 11 is opened, the proximity switch 1103 is turned on, and the microwave generator 7 will not work, effectively saving energy and protecting the environment.

[0034] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. For those skilled in the art, the technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments can be improved or modified, or some of the technical features can be equivalently replaced; and all such modifications and replacements should fall within the protection scope of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode materials, comprising an activation hopper (1), a distributor (3) and a drying box (14) arranged in sequence along the conveying direction of a conveyor belt (4), characterized in that: A crusher (2) is installed at the discharge port of the activation hopper (1), a medium-efficiency filter (18) is installed at the bottom air inlet of the drying box (14), a dehumidification fan (17) is installed at the top dehumidification port (16) of the drying box (14), and a microwave generator (7) is installed in the drying box (14).

2. The microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material according to claim 1, characterized in that: An infrared glass heating tube (15) is also arranged at the tail end of the conveyor belt (4).

3. The microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drying box (14) is divided into three drying areas, namely a primary drying chamber (6), a secondary drying chamber (12) and a tertiary drying chamber (13), and each drying chamber is equipped with a microwave generator (7), a temperature sensor (8), an illuminating lamp (9) and a camera (10).

4. The microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material according to claim 3, characterized in that: The side walls of the primary drying bin (6), the secondary drying bin (12) and the tertiary drying bin (13) are rotatably connected to a box door (11) via a hinge (1102), and a door lock (1101) and a proximity switch (1103) are respectively installed on the box door (11).

5. The microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crushing part of the crusher (2) is composed of a plastic shell (201) and a nylon screw (202). The nylon screw (202) is driven by a motor and is rotatably installed in the plastic shell (201). Discharge holes are evenly distributed on the surface of the plastic shell (201).

6. The microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distributor (3) comprises a bracket (303), an adjusting bolt (301) is threadedly connected to the bracket (303), and a baffle (302) is fixedly connected to the lower end of the adjusting bolt (301).

7. The microwave dryer for lithium battery positive electrode material according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feed inlet and the discharge outlet of the drying box (14) are both equipped with microwave suppressors (5).

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