Electrolyte barrel cleaning device

Abstract

The utility model discloses an electrolyte barrel cleaning device which comprises at least one electrolyte barrel, at least one air inlet pipeline, at least one discharge pipeline, at least one detection pipeline and at least one control module. One end of the gas inlet pipeline is connected with a nitrogen gas source, the other end of the gas inlet pipeline is connected with a nitrogen interface of the electrolyte barrel, and a gas inlet control valve is arranged on the gas inlet pipeline. The inlet end of the discharge pipeline is connected with a liquid outlet pipe of the electrolyte barrel, and the outlet end of the discharge pipeline is provided with a discharge control valve; the control module is electrically connected with the air inlet control valve, the discharge control valve and the dew point monitoring module, and a dew point set value is preset in the control module. Compared with an existing electrolyte barrel cleaning system, the purpose of drying can be achieved without using an organic solvent for cleaning or a drying procedure, no harm is caused to operators, and energy consumption is reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of lithium battery, and relates to an electrolyte barrel cleaning device. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of the lithium battery industry, the demand for lithium battery electrolyte is increasing. The electrolyte barrel is a recyclable packaging product. The impurity requirement of the electrolyte barrel for the electrolyte is in the order of ppm. In order to achieve the purpose of recycling the electrolyte barrel while ensuring the quality of the electrolyte, the electrolyte barrel must be cleaned to reduce the impurity content in the electrolyte barrel and prevent the electrolyte barrel from retaining the electrolyte of the previous batch after recycling.

[0003] A Chinese utility model patent with publication number CN107626699B discloses an electrolyte barrel cleaning process. The process includes a first cleaning step and a second cleaning step. The first cleaning step includes inputting a first solvent into the barrel body for the first cleaning, and the second cleaning step includes inputting a second solvent into the barrel body for the second cleaning. The first solvent and the second solvent are both low-boiling-point carbonate solvents contained in the electrolyte formula. However, this method still uses organic solvents, which are toxic to the human body and the environment.

[0004] A Chinese utility model patent with publication number CN112337922B discloses a lithium battery electrolyte packaging barrel inner wall and outer wall full-automatic cleaning system. The system includes a residual liquid recovery station, an outer wall cleaning station, an inner wall cleaning station, and a barrel drying station. The inner wall cleaning station is used for cleaning the inner wall of the packaging barrel. The barrel drying station is arranged to dry the barrel in a hot air circulation manner. After water washing, the electrolyte barrel needs to be treated to remove water to ensure that the water content in the electrolyte barrel atmosphere meets the requirements. This process greatly increases the required energy consumption.

[0005] Therefore, in order to ensure the quality of the electrolyte, the electrolyte barrel must be effectively, low-energy-consumption and safely cleaned to reduce the impurity content in the electrolyte barrel. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT

[0006] The general objective of the present disclosure is to provide an electrolyte barrel cleaning device. The technical problem to be solved is that the prior art needs to use organic solvents and continuous drying procedures, which are high in energy consumption and harmful to operators.

[0007] The first aspect of the present application provides an electrolyte barrel cleaning device, which comprises:

[0008] at least one electrolyte barrel comprising a liquid outlet pipe and a nitrogen gas interface;

[0009] at least one inlet pipe, one end of the inlet pipe being connected with a nitrogen source, the other end of the inlet pipe being connected with a nitrogen interface of the electrolyte tank, and an inlet control valve being arranged on the inlet pipe;

[0010] at least one outlet pipe, an inlet end of the outlet pipe being connected with a liquid outlet pipe of the electrolyte tank, and an outlet control valve being arranged on an outlet end of the outlet pipe;

[0011] at least one detection pipe, the detection pipe being connected with the outlet pipe, and a dew point monitoring module being arranged on the detection pipe;

[0012] at least one control module, the control module being electrically connected with the inlet control valve, the outlet control valve and the dew point monitoring module, and a preset dew point setting value being arranged in the control module.

[0013] Further, the dew point setting value is less than or equal to -30℃.

[0014] Further, the dew point setting value is less than or equal to -60℃.

[0015] Further, a flow control module is arranged on the inlet pipe, and the flow control module is electrically connected with the control module.

[0016] Further, the flow control module further comprises a flow distribution module. When there are multiple inlet pipes, the flow distribution module can evenly distribute the nitrogen flow into each branch to prevent flow deviation and ensure that the nitrogen purging flow of each electrolyte tank is sufficient.

[0017] Further, the flow distribution module comprises an orifice flowmeter.

[0018] Further, the dew point monitoring module comprises a dew point meter.

[0019] Further, the pressure of the nitrogen supplied by the nitrogen source ranges from 0.09MPa to 0.1MPa.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution provided by the present application has the following advantages:

[0021] 1. The present application compares the existing electrolyte tank cleaning system, which does not need to use organic solvent cleaning, and does not need to dry the work sequence to achieve the purpose of drying, which is harmless to the operator and reduces energy consumption.

[0022] 2. In the case of multiple inlet pipes and simultaneous cleaning of multiple electrolyte tanks, the total cleaning time of each electrolyte tank will be effectively shortened. Typically, without heating and vacuumizing, it only takes 20-30 minutes to reduce the dew point of a 200L or 1000L electrolyte tank from -2℃ to -60℃. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] The advantages and spirit of the present application can be further understood through the following detailed description and drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the electrolyte tank used in the present application is shown.

[0025] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the cleaning device of the electrolyte tank of the present application is shown.

[0026] In the figure: 101 represents the electrolyte tank outlet pipe, 102 represents the air inlet pipe, 103 represents the air inlet pipe quick connector, 104 represents the outlet pipe quick connector, 201 represents the flow meter, 202 represents the air inlet control valve, 203 represents the electrolyte tank, and 204 represents the dew point monitoring module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The specific embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present application should be understood as not being limited to the following described embodiments, and the technical concept of the present application can be implemented in combination with other known technologies or other technologies having the same functions as those known technologies.

[0028] TERMINOLOGY

[0029] In the following description of specific embodiments, in order to clearly show the structure and working mode, many directional words will be used for description, but the words "front", "back", "left", "right", "outer", "inner", "outward", "inward", "axial", "radial", and the like should be understood as convenient words, and should not be understood as limiting words.

[0030] In the following description of specific embodiments, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only used for the convenience of simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the indicated device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, when a first structure is described as being positioned "above" or "below" a second structure, this should be understood to mean that the first structure is positioned further away from or closer to the horizontal plane.

[0031] In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used only for descriptive purposes and are not to be taken literally or to imply or suggest a relative importance of the technical features indicated. They are merely used to distinguish one technical feature from another in the present technical solution. Thus, features limited by "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified. Similarly, the limiting words appearing in the text, such as "one", do not mean the limitation of the number, but describe the technical features that have not appeared in the preceding text. Similarly, unless the noun is modified by a specific quantity, it should be considered to include both singular and plural forms in the text, that is, it can include a single technical feature or multiple technical features in the technical solution. Similarly, the modifiers appearing before the numerals in the text, such as "about", "approximately", generally include the number, and its specific meaning should be understood in conjunction with the context.

[0032] It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, "A and / or B" can mean that there are three cases: only A, only B, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0033] In this application, unless specifically identified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounting", "connected", "connecting", "fixed", and "fixedly" are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect mounting, connecting, and fixing, secure or securement, connective or connecting mechanisms, fasteners, combinations of them, and the like, and can include fixed mounting, fixed connection, and permanent connection, unless otherwise stated or limited by context. For example, mounting can be fixed mounting, detachable mounting or integral mounting; can be mechanical mounting, electrical mounting or both mechanical and electrical mounting; can be direct mounting, indirect mounting, or both direct and indirect mounting through an intermediate medium; can be internal connection or interaction between two elements, or external connection or interaction between two elements. The above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific meaning of the specific context for those skilled in the art. "Fixedly connected" or "fixed connection" or "non-actively connected" is understood to mean the connection between two or more structural members is not configured to provide relative movement. An example of a fixed connection is a welded joint or a bolted joint, and in some cases a welded joint and a bolted joint. "Active connection" or "active" or "movable connection" is understood to mean the connection between two or more structural members that allows horizontal and / or vertical relative movement between the members under extreme dynamic loads. Such connections generally do not allow movement under static loads or general dynamic loads (e.g., as applied by light / medium wind).

[0034] The terms "unit", "piece", "thing" and "module" described in the specification mean a unit for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by a hardware component or a software component and a combination thereof.

[0035] The terms "high pressure" and "medium pressure" mean that high pressure is higher than medium pressure, so the difference between the two can be relatively small.

[0036] The terms "high temperature" and "low temperature" mean that high temperature is higher than low temperature, so the difference between the two can be relatively small.

[0037] Unless clearly indicated to the contrary, each aspect or embodiment defined herein can be combined with any other aspect or embodiment or aspects or embodiments. In particular, any feature indicated as being preferred or advantageous can be combined with any other feature or features indicated as being preferred or advantageous.

[0038] The specific embodiments of the application are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Embodiments can be spread across multiple views of the drawings. The same reference numbers in the embodiments generally represent the same or corresponding elements. Therefore, the description of the embodiments is incorporated into each other, and the description of the common subject matter of each embodiment is generally not repeated here.

[0039] The electrolyte barrel is mostly a pressure-resistant packaging barrel with upper and lower elliptical heads and a cylindrical barrel body made of stainless steel stamping and welding. For example, Figure 1As shown, two pipes are introduced at the top of the barrel body of the electrolyte barrel, one short pipe as the air inlet pipe 102, and one long pipe as the electrolyte barrel outlet pipe 101. The top end of the outlet pipe 101 is provided with an outlet pipe quick connector 104, which is used to press the electrolyte out of the barrel. The air inlet pipe 102 is provided with an air inlet pipe quick connector 103, which is used to connect the nitrogen gas source.

[0040] As shown, the electrolyte barrel cleaning device of the present application operates according to the following steps: Figure 2

[0041] S1: Remove the top cover and valve of the electrolyte barrel 203.

[0042] S2: Use high-pressure pure water to spray and remove the residual liquid in the electrolyte barrel 203. After blowing the barrel body and various parts of the electrolyte barrel 203, assemble them and perform a pressure test to ensure the sealing.

[0043] S3: Use compressed air with a air knife to dry the residual moisture inside and outside the electrolyte barrel 203 wall until no liquid water is visible. This can minimize the residual water in the electrolyte barrel 203 and greatly shorten the subsequent nitrogen purging time.

[0044] S4: After the electrolyte barrel 203 is tightly sealed, high-pressure high-purity nitrogen gas is used to purge the air and residual moisture in the electrolyte barrel 203. The dry nitrogen gas carries away the excess moisture. Optionally, the nitrogen gas can be preheated to 150°C to improve the purging efficiency. The nitrogen gas pressure is in the range of 0.09MPa to 0.1MPa, and the nitrogen gas flow is 150L / min to 250L / min. A flow meter 201 and an air inlet control valve 202 are also provided on the air inlet pipe to control the nitrogen gas flow into the electrolyte barrel 203.

[0045] This step can be repeated until the dew point monitoring module 204 shows that the dew point reaches -60°C. The purging time is in the range of 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

[0046] In this step, the dew point monitoring module 204 at the outlet end of the exhaust pipe measures the dew point. If the measured dew point value is not higher than the set dew point value, the moisture content in the electrolyte barrel 203 meets the requirements; if the measured dew point value is greater than the set dew point value, the moisture content in the electrolyte barrel 203 does not meet the requirements, then repeat the nitrogen purging step until the moisture content in the electrolyte barrel 203 meets the requirements.

[0047] The dew point monitoring module 204 can ensure the authenticity of the monitoring data and fast response while also considering the stability of the equipment, ensuring that the final purging dew point meets the requirements. The dew point monitoring module 204 can be a dew point meter known to those skilled in the art.

[0048] ​The 200L or 1000L electrolyte tank is purged by the above cleaning device without heating and vacuumizing steps. The dew point in the electrolyte tank is from -2℃ (depending on the atmosphere) to -60℃ only for 20-30 minutes. If the electrolyte tanks of multiple branches are purged at the same time, the overall time of each electrolyte tank will be effectively improved. Not only the steps are simplified, the time is saved, the tank washing efficiency is high, but also the cost is low, energy saving and environmental protection, and it will not cause harm to the human body (without organic solvent).

[0049] The above device can constitute multiple sets of electrolyte tank cleaning pipelines. As an embodiment of the present application, a main gas path and multiple branches are designed according to different purging time requirements. Ball valves, pressure gauges, pressure regulating valves and flow controllers are arranged on the main gas path. That is, the gas flow of the main gas path is the sum of the gas amounts of each branch, which changes accordingly with the actual number of each branch used. Nitrogen gas flow is uniformly dispersed to each branch by means of orifice plate flow meters. When the dew point monitoring module detects that the dew point value of the gas flowing out of the electrolyte tank reaches the set value, one or several branches will immediately stop the supply of nitrogen gas, while the other pipelines are not affected. In addition, the end of each branch can be connected to an electrolyte tank, and the dew point value is obtained by multiple dew point monitoring modules.

[0050] In the above electrolyte tank cleaning device, the nitrogen purging and drying process replaces the traditional steam heating process. The purging line can also be customized according to different production requirements.

[0051] The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present application, and the above embodiment is only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit the present application. Any technical solution obtained by logical analysis, reasoning or limited experiment according to the concept of the present application should be within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An electrolyte tank cleaning apparatus characterized by comprising: The application relates to a nitrogen gas supply device for electrolyte, which comprises the following parts: at least one electrolyte tank, which comprises a liquid outlet pipe and a nitrogen gas interface; at least one gas inlet pipe, one end of the gas inlet pipe being connected with a nitrogen gas source, the other end of the gas inlet pipe being connected with the nitrogen gas interface of the electrolyte tank, and a gas inlet control valve being arranged on the gas inlet pipe; at least one discharge pipe, an inlet end of the discharge pipe being connected with the liquid outlet pipe of the electrolyte tank, and a discharge control valve being arranged on an outlet end of the discharge pipe; at least one detection pipe, the detection pipe being connected with the discharge pipe, and a dew point monitoring module being arranged on the detection pipe; at least one control module, the control module being electrically connected with the gas inlet control valve, the discharge control valve and the dew point monitoring module, and a preset dew point setting value being arranged in the control module.

2. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by The dew point setting value is less than or equal to -30 DEG C.

3. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by The dew point setting value is less than or equal to -60 DEG C.

4. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by A flow control module is further arranged on the gas inlet pipe, and the flow control module is electrically connected with the control module.

5. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized by The flow control module further comprises a flow distribution module.

6. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized by The flow distribution module comprises an orifice flowmeter.

7. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by The dew point monitoring module comprises a dew point meter.

8. The electrolyte tank washing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by The nitrogen gas supplied by the nitrogen gas source has a pressure range of 0.09-0.1 MPa.

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