Mobile battery pack processing device and processing method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile battery pack processing apparatus including a first container including a discharging module or a cooling module, and a second container including a dismantling module to which treated battery packs are transferred from the discharging module or the cooling module of the first container and for dismantling the battery packs. The present invention has the effect of reducing the cost consumed in the waste battery processing and significantly improving the stability by modularizing the waste battery dismantling process.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery pack processing device and processing method, and more particularly to a mobile module system for dismantling waste battery packs generated from electric vehicles and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles have been gradually becoming more popular. Taking into account the replacement cycles of such environmentally friendly vehicles, it is predicted that used vehicle batteries will be collected from approximately 10,000 electric vehicles per year in 2024, and that by 2031, used vehicle batteries will be collected from approximately 100,000 electric vehicles per year.

[0003] Generally, the process of recycling used electric vehicle batteries to recover valuable metals mainly involves discharging, followed by crushing, pulverizing, firing and separation processes, followed by hydrometallurgy, as shown in Figure 1. Some companies have also commercialized a process that omits the discharging process and involves separation after dry melting.

[0004] On December 10, 2020, the National Assembly passed the Amendment Bill on the Act on Resource Circulation of Electrical and Electronic Products and Automobiles, which establishes the legal basis for the establishment, operation, operations, and budget of Future Waste Resource Collection Centers. Based on this amendment, the Ministry of Environment is currently building Future Waste Resource Collection Centers on Korea Environment Corporation premises in four regions. In the future, the regional Future Waste Resource Collection Centers will manage the entire waste treatment process, including dismantling, collecting, storing, evaluating, and selling used batteries when electric vehicles are scrapped.

[0005] The storage and transportation of waste electric vehicle batteries is essential for collection at the Future Waste Resource Center and sale to recycling plants. The standards for storage and transportation are as follows:

[0006] According to the “Study on Recycling Methods and Standards for Used Electric Vehicle Batteries (Ministry of Environment, 2018)”, used batteries are to be removed from electric vehicles, discharged, and then stored in fire-resistant steel cases. Regarding the transportation of used electric vehicle batteries, the “Manual for Safe Collection, Dismantling, and Storage of Electric Vehicle Batteries (Ministry of Environment, 2019)” only mentions battery terminal processing methods and battery packaging materials.

[0007] Under these circumstances, at around 3:36 pm on December 28, 2020, a fire broke out in a 25-ton cargo truck transporting used batteries on a road in Yongjin-eup, Wanju-gun, North Jeolla Province, causing property damage estimated by the fire department to be worth 15.5 million won. There is a possibility that such accidents will occur again in the future.

[0008] To solve this problem, Stoebich Technology GmbH in Germany developed a product called STRAINBOX. It has a gas filter system, spark protection, and liquid leakage prevention functions, and was developed for transporting lithium-ion batteries. However, its high price is an obstacle to its widespread use, and a STRAINBOX that can hold 60kWh used electric vehicle batteries costs about 10,000 euros, making it difficult to popularize it for transportation purposes. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The present invention has been devised in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a mobile battery pack processing device and processing method that does not require transportation of waste batteries, modularizes the waste battery dismantling process, and improves cost and stability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile battery pack processing device including a first container including a discharging module or a cooling module, and a second container to which discharged battery packs are transferred from the discharging module of the first container, the second container including a dismantling module for dismantling the discharged battery packs.

[0011] The first container and the second container may be provided in a mobile manner.

[0012] The first container and the second container can be moved by separate moving means.

[0013] The first and second containers may include a conveyor belt for interconnection.

[0014] The discharge module may include a reverse voltage discharge device.

[0015] The demolition module may include cutting devices using blades, lasers, water jets, etc.

[0016] The dismantling module may include a crushing device.

[0017] The crushing device may be one or more.

[0018] The disassembly module may further include a sorting device.

[0019] The battery pack may further include a third container for receiving pole pieces of the battery packs disassembled from the disassembled module of the second container.

[0020] The third container may include a conveyor belt for interconnecting with the second container.

[0021] The third container may be provided in a mobile manner.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack processing method including the steps of: moving a first container including a cooling or discharging module for a battery pack and a second container including a dismantling module for dismantling a discharged battery pack to a position where raw materials are present; fixing and coupling the first container and the second container; and discharging and dismantling the battery pack in the first container and the second container.

[0023] The method may further include housing the disassembled battery pack in a third container housing pole pieces of the battery pack.

[0024] The method may further include releasing the coupling and fastening of the first container and the second container after discharging and dismantling the battery pack. Effect of the Invention

[0025] According to the present invention, the waste battery dismantling process is modularized and configured to be mobile, thereby reducing the cost consumed in waste battery processing and significantly improving stability. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] In general, this shows a schematic diagram of the process for recycling used electric vehicle batteries to recover valuable metals. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery pack processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery pack processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a battery pack processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to various examples. However, the present invention can be modified into several other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0028] The present invention relates to a mobile battery pack processing device and processing method, and more particularly to a mobile module system for dismantling waste battery packs generated from electric vehicles and the like.

[0029] Conventionally, the discharge and dismantling process for waste battery processing uses fixed equipment installed on the ground to perform the discharge and dismantling work, and for this purpose, the waste battery must be transported to the location where the equipment is located. In order to prevent the risk of fire and explosion during the transportation of the waste battery, a separate container for waste batteries with dustproof and explosionproof functions is used. However, assuming that the price of a container for storing 60KWh waste batteries is about 10,000 euros, the burden of logistics costs associated with the use of the container and the burden of operating costs associated with the construction and operation of the equipment may have a negative impact on the pursuit of economic efficiency in recycling waste batteries.

[0030] In order to solve these problems, the inventors have come up with the idea of ​​constructing a mobile battery processing device including individual containers in which detailed sub-processes related to the waste battery dismantling process are modularized, and transporting the battery processing device to a place where waste batteries are accumulated to perform the dismantling process, thereby ensuring costs and safety, and have completed the present invention.

[0031] Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack processing device including a first container including a discharge module or a cooling module, and a second container to which a discharged battery pack is transferred from the discharge module of the first container, the second container including a dismantling module for dismantling the discharged battery pack.

[0032] A mobile battery pack processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a first container including a cooling module. The cooling module is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, an electric cryogenic cooling chamber capable of cooling the entire battery pack to a cryogenic state, and may perform the functions of cooling and solidifying the battery pack at about -130°C to primarily maintain the battery cells in a conductive / inoperable state due to the freezing of the internal electrolyte of the battery, and at the same time, easily crushing and processing by-products not required for battery recycling, such as attached plastics, polystyrene foam, and rubber pads, other than the battery models / cells.

[0033] Cooling using the cooling module allows stable battery dismantling using conventional physical dismantling and cutting equipment without separate discharge and incineration processes, and also simplifies the crushing process of unnecessary products in the subsequent dismantling process, and plays a role in improving the durability of equipment and work efficiency in classification and sorting processes. In addition, when using the cooling module, no special technology or structure is required for the related installation and operation for the discharge process or accidents such as fire and explosion, so it is possible to automatically and quickly process a large number of stable battery packs required for the subsequent processes (dismantling, crushing and sorting) while being structurally simple. As a result, in addition to the effect of ensuring the economic efficiency of equipment and operation that can reduce the operating costs of the entire battery recycling process, it is possible to ensure the resource recovery rate in the subsequent processes (dry and wet processes) after dismantling and simplify the treatment process for environmental pollution.

[0034] A battery pack processing device according to another embodiment of the present invention may include a first container including a discharge module. The discharge module may be a discharge module using a reverse voltage method. More specifically, the discharge module may include a first discharge step in which a battery is connected to a power converter and a voltage is applied to discharge the battery, and a second discharge step in which a voltage opposite to that of the first discharge step (reverse voltage) is applied after the first discharge step to discharge the battery. When a typical lithium-ion battery is discharged to 0V (2.5V to 3V) below SOC "0" and then waited for several minutes to several tens of minutes, it can be confirmed that the terminal voltage recovers, and when a discharge is attempted again, a considerable amount of initial discharge current is generated. From this, it can be inferred that a considerable amount of Li remains undischarged in the negative electrode through normal discharge. However, in the case of the discharge module using the reverse voltage method of the present invention, in order to solve the lithium remaining in the negative electrode, a reverse voltage is applied from the point where 0V appears during discharge, and the remaining lithium in the negative electrode can be eliminated, and if this state is continued for a certain period of time, it develops into an internal short circuit, and the terminal voltage of the battery can be controlled to a state where it cannot be recovered, thereby significantly improving the operation stability.

[0035] The mobile battery pack treatment device of the present invention may include a second container to which a discharged or cooled battery pack is transferred from a first container including a discharging module or a cooling module, and which includes a dismantling module for dismantling the discharged battery pack.

[0036] The dismantling module may include a cutting device for the discharged or cooled battery packs. The cutting device may be at least one selected from a blade, a laser, and a water jet cutting device. Specifically, the battery packs processed in the cooling or discharging module may be dismantled into unit sizes or module shapes using a physical cutting device such as a blade or a laser, taking into consideration the structural characteristics of the battery packs of each battery manufacturer, thereby ensuring the efficiency and operational economy of the subsequent crushing process, and performing a dismantling process based on an effective battery pack cutting criterion selection for preventing overload of the crusher in the crushing process, simplifying the sorting process, and increasing the crusher life and productivity.

[0037] In general, the registration information of the battery pack at the time of storage is used to process the optimum cutting positions and paths for producing battery modules cut into unit sizes required for the crushing process under conditions that minimize the loss of battery recovered materials based on the mechanical structure of the battery pack and the assembly information of the cells and modules, and the cut battery modules that have undergone this process are transferred to a crushing device to perform the crushing process. The battery pack that has undergone the cooling or discharging is in a safe state in which there is no risk of explosion, fire, foul odor, or other dangerous situations even if a physical force is applied from the outside, and therefore has the flexibility of a cutting and dismantling process using a blade, laser, or water jet without any particular device restrictions, taking into account the material and unit cut size of the battery pack.

[0038] The dismantling module may include a crushing device that crushes the battery pack disconnected from the cutting device.

[0039] The crushing device may be a commonly used crusher, and may include, for example, a shaft-based shredder that smoothly crushes the transferred battery packs through the rotation of a number of crushing blades fixed to a rotor in the crusher and a main fixed blade on a saw blade. The crushing device may also include a classifier that classifies various by-products (plastics, non-ferrous metals, antifreeze, etc.) generated in the crushing process according to material. In particular, impurities such as plastics, polystyrene foam, and rubber that have undergone a low-temperature (-60 to 120°C) cooling process are easily crushed in the primary crushing device even with a small impact due to friction with the multiple crushing blades, so that more than 90% of plastic impurities are discharged to the classifier after the primary crushing. As a result, it is advantageous that by-products can be effectively collected and processed in stages by installing a separate classification and collection device in the crushing device as a module. Meanwhile, the crushing device may include one or more, and may include, for example, a primary crushing device that crushes into unit module sizes and a secondary crushing device that finely crushes the same.

[0040] The dismantling module may further include a sorting device for selecting crushed materials from the cutting and crushing device. The sorting device may sort and collect materials such as rubber, fiber, glass, etc., in addition to main ferrous and non-ferrous metals, after the dismantling process of the cutting and crushing base. The sorting device is not particularly limited and may be configured as a combination of a dry or wet specific gravity sorter, a molding machine, etc. for performing the sorting operation.

[0041] The dismantling module according to the present invention can determine the crushing and recovery, crushing size, and whether or not to perform additional sorting processing depending on the characteristics of the process after cutting (refining, recovery), allowing for flexible operation according to the user's purpose, thereby having the effect of finally producing battery dismantling by-products in the desired form.

[0042] The battery pack treatment device according to the present invention may include a third container for accommodating the pole pieces of the battery packs treated in the dismantling module. The third container can accommodate the pole pieces of the battery packs treated by the cooling or discharging and dismantling process and transport them to a final destination such as a waste resource collection center.

[0043] The first container, the second container, and the third container may include a conveyor belt for interconnection. More specifically, the battery pack processing method according to the present invention includes the steps of moving a first container including a cooling or discharging module for a battery pack and a second container including a dismantling module for dismantling a discharged battery pack to a position where raw materials are present, fixing and coupling the first container and the second container, and discharging and dismantling the battery pack in the first container and the second container. At this time, the waste battery processed in the cooling or discharging module may be transferred from the first container to the second container by the conveyor belt. In a similar manner, pole pieces of the dismantled battery pack may be transferred from the second container to the third container by the conveyor belt and stored in the third container.

[0044] Meanwhile, a pollution prevention device may be further included that moves rectangular tubes or the like surrounding the sides and tops of each container away from the container surface to close the gap between the containers and protect the surroundings from environmental pollutants.

[0045] After discharging and dismantling the battery pack, the first container and the second container may be released from their coupling and fastening to complete the process.

[0046] As one of the features of the present invention, the first container, the second container, and the third container may be provided in a movable manner, and each of them may be moved by a separate moving means. The moving means is not particularly limited, but for example, the containers may be loaded onto a vehicle and moved.

[0047] In this way, by using a modularized device that is equipped in a mobile manner, there is no need to use expensive battery transportation means, and the battery treatment device can be transported to a location where waste batteries are accumulated and the dismantling process is carried out there, thereby ensuring costs and safety.

[0048] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and that various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the technical idea of ​​the present invention described in the claims.

Claims

1. a first container including a discharge module or a cooling module; A second container to which the treated battery pack is transferred from the discharge module or the cooling module of the first container, the second container including a dismantling module for dismantling the battery pack; a third container including a crushing module for crushing the disassembled battery pack; 23. A mobile battery pack processing device comprising:

2. 2. The mobile battery pack processing device according to claim 1, wherein the first container, the second container, and the third container are provided in a mobile manner.

3. 2. The mobile battery pack processing device according to claim 1, wherein the first container, the second container, and the third container are moved by separate moving means, respectively.

4. 2. The mobile battery pack handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first container, the second container, and the third container include a conveyor belt for interconnection.

5. 2. The mobile battery pack processing device of claim 1, wherein the discharge module includes a reverse voltage discharge device.

6. The mobile battery pack processing device of claim 1 , wherein the dismantling module includes a blade, a laser, and a water jet cutting device.

7. The mobile battery pack processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the comminution module includes a crusher.

8. The mobile battery pack handling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the crushing device is one or more.

9. The mobile battery pack processing device of claim 1 , wherein the crushing module further includes a screening device.

10. 2. The mobile battery pack processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth container for receiving pole pieces of the battery packs disassembled from the crushing module of the third container.

11. 11. The mobile battery pack handling system of claim 10, wherein the fourth container includes a conveyor belt for interconnecting with the third container.

12. The mobile battery pack processing device according to claim 10, wherein the fourth container is provided in a mobile manner.

13. Moving a first container including a battery pack cooling or discharging module, a second container including a dismantling module for cooling or dismantling the battery pack, and a third container including a crushing module for crushing the dismantled battery pack to a position where a battery pack to be processed is present; fastening and coupling the first container, the second container, and the third container; discharging, cooling, dismantling and crushing the battery packs in the first container, the second container and the third container; A battery pack processing method comprising:

14. 14. The battery pack processing method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of housing the disassembled battery pack in a fourth container housing pole pieces of the battery pack.

15. The battery pack processing method according to claim 13, further comprising releasing the coupling and fastening of the first container, the second container and the third container after discharging and dismantling the battery pack.

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