Pretreatment apparatus for lithium secondary battery recycling and pretreatment method for lithium secondary battery recycling

Abstract

The present invention provides a pretreatment apparatus for lithium secondary battery recycling and a pretreatment method for lithium secondary battery recycling using same, wherein after an inert atmosphere is formed in a space where waste batteries are crushed and dried, repeated input, crushing, and drying processes of waste batteries can be continuously performed without interruption while the inert atmosphere is maintained.

Description

Pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries and pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries

[0001] The present invention relates to a pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries and a pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries, and more particularly, to a pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries, which allows the pretreatment process for recycling waste batteries to be performed without interruption, and a pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries using the same.

[0002] The pretreatment process for recycling used batteries includes crushing the used batteries, removing the electrolyte, and sorting and selecting the batteries. Finally, the product is obtained in the form of black powder, which can then be recycled.

[0003] In the pretreatment process for recycling these waste batteries, after a certain amount of waste batteries are placed in a treatment tank where the waste batteries are crushed and the electrolyte is removed, a vacuum must be formed inside the treatment tank and an inert atmosphere must be created to prevent accidents such as fire or explosion during the crushing and drying process of the waste batteries.

[0004] Therefore, after the spent batteries were introduced, it was difficult to introduce additional spent batteries until the entire pretreatment process for recycling the introduced spent batteries was completed in order to maintain a vacuum and inert atmosphere.

[0005] Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries, which enables the repeated input of waste batteries and the process of crushing and drying waste batteries to be continuously performed without interruption while the inert atmosphere is maintained after the space where waste batteries are crushed and dried is formed into an inert atmosphere, and a pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries using the same.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a preprocessing device for recycling a lithium secondary battery comprises: a waste battery recycling unit having a waste battery regeneration facility for crushing and drying waste batteries arranged in an internal space and having a glove opening provided on one side; a pass box having an internal space narrower than an internal space of the waste battery recycling unit, the internal space being installed on the outside of the waste battery recycling unit so as to be blocked from the internal space of the waste battery recycling unit, and positioned in the internal space of the waste battery recycling unit so as to be close to the glove opening and openably provided, and an inlet cover exposed to the outside of the waste battery recycling unit on the opposite side of the outlet cover and openably provided; a vacuum forming device for forming a vacuum atmosphere in the internal space of the pass box; And it includes a glove which is inserted into the inside from the outer surface of the waste battery recycling processing unit and is disposed close to the outlet cover, and the inner space of the waste battery recycling processing unit is formed with an inert atmosphere, and when the waste battery is put into the pass box, the inner space is formed with a vacuum atmosphere, and then the outlet cover is opened using the glove, and the waste battery is taken out from the pass box and put into the waste battery recycling facility.

[0007] In one embodiment, the waste battery recycling facility may include a battery crusher for crushing waste batteries; and a dryer for drying the crushed materials from the crusher to remove electrolyte.

[0008] In one embodiment, the waste battery recycling processing unit may include a gas injection unit that injects an inert gas into the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit; a gas discharge unit that discharges gas of the electrolyte dried in the dryer; and an oxygen measurement sensor that measures the oxygen concentration in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit.

[0009] A pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention is a pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery using the pretreatment device, characterized in that it comprises an inert atmosphere forming step of forming an internal space of a waste battery recycling processing unit into an inert atmosphere; a waste battery insertion step of opening an inlet cover of a pass box, inserting a waste battery into the internal space of the pass box, and then closing the inlet cover; a vacuum forming step of forming a vacuum atmosphere in the internal space of the pass box; a waste battery extraction step of opening an outlet cover of the pass box using a glove inserted into the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit, and extracting the waste battery from the internal space of the pass box; and a waste battery recycling processing step of introducing the extracted waste battery into a waste battery recycling facility and crushing and drying it.

[0010] A pretreatment device for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention and a pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery using the same have the advantage that after a space in which a waste battery is crushed and dried is formed into an inert atmosphere, the repeated input of waste batteries and the crushing and drying process can be continuously performed without interruption while the inert atmosphere is maintained.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the configuration of a pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Fig. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the pass box illustrated in Fig. 1 installed.

[0013] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the process sequence of a pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries and a pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries using the same according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. The present invention may be modified in various ways and may take various forms, and thus specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific disclosed form, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals are used to refer to similar components. In the attached drawings, the dimensions of structures are illustrated larger than actual dimensions to ensure clarity of the present invention.

[0015] While terms like "first" and "second" may be used to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component could be referred to as a "second component," and similarly, a second component could also be referred to as a "first component."

[0016] The terminology used in this application is only used to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, it should be understood that the terms "comprise" or "have" indicate the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0017] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the configuration of a preprocessing device for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the pass box shown in FIG. 1 installed.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1, a preprocessing device for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a waste battery recycling processing unit (110), a pass box (120), a vacuum forming device (130), and a glove (140).

[0020] The waste battery recycling processing unit (110) has a waste battery regeneration facility (111) installed in the internal space where waste batteries are crushed and dried, and a glove opening (112) may be provided on one side.

[0021] In one embodiment, the waste battery recycling facility (111) may include a battery crusher (111a) for crushing waste batteries; and a dryer (111b) for drying the crushed material from the crusher (111a) to remove electrolyte.

[0022] There is no particular limitation on the structure of the shredder (111a), and for example, it may include a shredder for accommodating waste batteries and a shredding means in the form of a punch or blade installed in the shredder.

[0023] There is no particular limitation on the structure of the dryer (111b), and for example, it may include a drying furnace that is placed below the crusher (111a) and receives crushed material falling from the crusher (111a), and a heating means for heating the drying furnace.

[0024] Meanwhile, the waste battery recycling unit (110) forms an internal space with an inert atmosphere to prepare for fire or explosion when the waste battery is crushed. To this end, the waste battery recycling unit (110) may include a gas injection unit (113) for injecting an inert gas into the internal space of the waste battery recycling unit (110), a gas discharge unit (114) for discharging gas of the electrolyte dried in the dryer (111b), and an oxygen measurement sensor (115) for measuring the oxygen concentration in the internal space of the waste battery recycling unit (110). For example, the gas injection unit (113) and the gas discharge unit (114) may be provided in the form of a tube having an openable valve. In this case, an inert gas is injected into the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110), and the oxygen concentration in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) is measured using an oxygen measuring sensor (115) while adjusting the amount of the inert gas injected, thereby forming an inert atmosphere in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110).

[0025] The pass box (120) is provided so that its internal space is narrower than the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110), and may include an inlet cover (121) that is openable and closable on one side of the box, and an outlet cover (122) that is openable and closable on the opposite side of the inlet cover (121).

[0026] The pass box (120) is installed on the outside of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) in a sealed state with the inlet cover (121) and the outlet cover (122) so that the internal space is blocked from the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110). At this time, the pass box (120) is positioned in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) so that the outlet cover (122) is close to the glove opening (112) of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110), and the inlet cover (121) is exposed to the outside of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110). Accordingly, the outlet cover (122) can be opened and closed in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110), and the inlet cover (121) can be opened and closed from the outside of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110).

[0027] The vacuum forming device (130) forms a vacuum atmosphere in the internal space of the pass box (120). For example, the vacuum forming device (130) may include a valve connected to the pass box (120) and a vacuum pump connected to the valve and which, when the valve is open, sucks in air in the internal space of the pass box (120) to create a vacuum in the internal space of the pass box (120).

[0028] The glove (140) is provided to seal the glove opening (112) of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) and seal the glove opening (112), and is inserted from the outer surface of the battery recycling processing unit (110) to the inside through the glove opening (112), and is placed close to the outlet cover (122) of the pass box (120).

[0029] Below, the process sequence of a pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery using a pretreatment device for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0030] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the process sequence of a pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 3, a pretreatment method for recycling a lithium secondary battery according to one embodiment of the present invention may include an inert atmosphere forming step (S110), a spent battery introduction step (S120), a vacuum forming step (S130), a spent battery withdrawal step (S140), and a spent battery regeneration processing step (S150).

[0032] In the inert atmosphere forming step (S110), the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) is formed into an inert atmosphere. At this time, an inert gas is injected into the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110), and the oxygen concentration in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) is measured using an oxygen measuring sensor (115) while adjusting the amount of the inert gas injected, thereby forming the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) into an inert atmosphere. For example, argon gas or nitrogen gas can be injected, and the inert atmosphere can be formed so that the oxygen concentration is less than 3 to 4%.

[0033] In the waste battery insertion step (S120), the inlet cover (121) of the pass box (120) is opened, the waste battery is inserted into the internal space of the pass box (120), and the inlet cover (121) is closed.

[0034] In the vacuum forming step (S130), a vacuum atmosphere is formed in the internal space of the pass box (120). At this time, a suction pump is used to suck in air in the internal space of the pass box (120) to create a vacuum in the internal space of the pass box (120), and this vacuum is maintained.

[0035] In the waste battery extraction step (S140), the outlet cover (122) of the pass box (120) is opened using a glove (140) inserted into the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) to extract the waste battery from the internal space of the pass box (120).

[0036] In the waste battery recycling processing step (S150), the waste battery taken out from the pass box (120) is fed into the waste battery recycling facility (111) and crushed and dried. At this time, the waste battery is first fed into a crusher (111a) and crushed, and then fed into a dryer (111b) and dried. At this time, the electrolyte is released as gas and discharged through the gas discharge unit (114) of the waste battery recycling processing unit (110).

[0037] According to a pretreatment device for recycling lithium secondary batteries and a pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries using the same according to one embodiment of the present invention, after a space in which waste batteries are crushed and dried is formed into an inert atmosphere, the repeated input of waste batteries and the crushing and drying processes can be continuously performed without interruption while the inert atmosphere is maintained.

[0038] That is, in order to crush and dry waste batteries, the space for crushing and drying waste batteries had to be created with an inert atmosphere, and this process had to be repeated every time waste batteries were input.

[0039] However, according to the present invention, the pass box (120) into which the waste batteries are introduced and the waste battery recycling processing unit (110) that recycles the introduced waste batteries are provided as independent, sealed spaces, so that after the internal space where the waste batteries are crushed and dried is initially formed into an inert atmosphere, the process of crushing and drying the waste batteries can be performed by repeatedly introducing the waste batteries while maintaining this atmosphere.

[0040] The description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed herein, but is to be construed in the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A waste battery recycling processing unit in which waste battery regeneration equipment for crushing and drying waste batteries is installed in the internal space and a glove opening is provided on one side; A pass box having an internal space narrower than the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit, and installed on the outside of the waste battery recycling processing unit so that the internal space is blocked from the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit, and including an outlet cover positioned in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit so as to be openable and closeable and an inlet cover exposed to the outside of the waste battery recycling processing unit on the opposite side of the outlet cover and openable and closeable; A vacuum forming device that forms a vacuum atmosphere in the internal space of the above pass box; and A glove is provided inserted from the outside to the inside of the waste battery recycling processing unit and is positioned close to the outlet cover. The internal space of the above-mentioned waste battery recycling processing unit is formed with an inert atmosphere, The above pass box is characterized in that when the waste battery is inserted, the internal space is formed into a vacuum atmosphere, and then the outlet cover is opened using the glove, and the waste battery is taken out from the pass box and inserted into the waste battery recycling facility. Pretreatment device for lithium secondary battery recycling.

2. In paragraph 1, The above-mentioned waste battery recycling facility, Battery shredder for shredding waste batteries; and Including a dryer for drying the shredded material from the shredder to remove the electrolyte. Pretreatment device for lithium secondary battery recycling.

3. In paragraph 2, The above waste battery recycling processing unit is, A gas injection unit for injecting an inert gas into the internal space of the above-mentioned waste battery recycling unit; A gas discharge unit for discharging gas from the electrolyte dried in the above dryer; and Including an oxygen measuring sensor that measures the oxygen concentration in the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit. Pretreatment device for lithium secondary battery recycling.

4. A pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries using a pretreatment device according to Article 1, An inert atmosphere formation step in which the internal space of a waste battery recycling processing unit is formed into an inert atmosphere; A waste battery insertion step in which the entrance cover of the pass box is opened, the waste battery is inserted into the internal space of the pass box, and the entrance cover is closed; A vacuum forming step in which the internal space of the pass box is formed into a vacuum atmosphere; A waste battery extraction step in which the outlet cover of the pass box is opened using a glove inserted into the internal space of the waste battery recycling processing unit to extract the waste battery from the internal space of the pass box; and It is characterized by including a waste battery recycling processing step of feeding the withdrawn waste batteries into a waste battery recycling facility and crushing and drying them. Pretreatment method for recycling lithium secondary batteries.

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