Slurry powder manufacturing device and slurry powder manufacturing method using same

Abstract

This slurry powder manufacturing device, according to the present invention, comprises: an inlet through which slurry is introduced, the slurry being a solvent-based mixture of an active material, a conductive material, and optionally, a binder; an accommodation unit connected to the inlet and for accommodating the slurry; and an outlet including at least one microchannel protruding in a rectangular parallelepiped shape from the bottom surface of the accommodation unit.

Description

Slurry powder manufacturing machine and method for manufacturing slurry powder using the same

[0001] Cross-citation with related application(s)

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0158498 filed November 08, 2024, and all contents disclosed in the document of said Korean patent application are incorporated herein as part of this specification.

[0003] The present invention relates to a slurry powder manufacturing machine and a method for manufacturing slurry powder using the same, and more specifically, to a slurry powder manufacturing machine capable of manufacturing slurry droplets having uniform particle size and high sphericity and a method for manufacturing slurry powder using the same.

[0004] Due to the rapid increase in the use of fossil fuels, there is a growing demand for alternative and clean energy. As part of this trend, the fields of electrochemical power generation and energy storage are among the most actively researched. Currently, secondary batteries are a representative example of electrochemical devices utilizing such electrochemical energy, and their scope of application is steadily expanding.

[0005] Recently, with growing interest in environmental issues, research and development on electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles are actively underway to replace fossil fuel-powered vehicles, such as gasoline and diesel cars, which are one of the main causes of air pollution. Lithium-ion batteries, which possess high energy density and discharge voltage, are being considered and widely commercialized as power sources for these electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

[0006] A lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly comprising a positive electrode and a negative electrode, each coated with a positive active material and a negative active material, respectively, and a separator disposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode.

[0007] Generally, electrodes are formed by coating a slurry, in which an active material, a binder, a conductive material, and a dispersant are mixed in a solvent, onto a current collector, followed by drying and rolling processes. Meanwhile, during the drying process, the solvent contained in the slurry is removed by evaporation; however, this can lead to problems such as electrode quality degradation, including defects like cracks or powder suspension caused by differences in solvent evaporation rates. Considering these issues, dry-based electrodes are being produced recently.

[0008] Specifically, the manufactured slurry can be dried to form a slurry powder, and the slurry powder can be loaded to produce an electrode in a dry manner.

[0009] Figure 1 is a conventional slurry powder manufacturing machine.

[0010] Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the AA region shown in Figure 1.

[0011] Referring to FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 together, conventionally, slurry powder was manufactured using a rotary type spray dryer (1C). When a slurry (10) in a solution state is introduced into the rotary type spray dryer (1C), the slurry (10) is sprayed into a high-temperature drying medium in the form of droplets by a spraying unit (20) including a rotating column. Hot air (30) is provided into the high-temperature drying medium to dry the slurry droplets into the form of slurry powder. When using the rotary type spray dryer (1C), a large amount of slurry powder can be manufactured, but there is a problem that the particle size of the slurry powder is somewhat non-uniform. If the slurry powder has a non-uniform particle size, deviations may occur during slurry powder loading, and the flowability of the slurry powder may also be reduced. Therefore, when manufacturing slurry powder, it is important to produce slurry droplets with high sphericity and uniform particle size in the beginning.

[0012] The present invention aims to provide a slurry powder manufacturing machine capable of producing slurry droplets having uniform particle size and high sphericity, and a method for manufacturing slurry powder using the same.

[0013] The slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention comprises: an inlet into which a slurry is introduced, wherein the slurry is mixed in a solvent with an active material, a conductive material, and optionally a binder; a receiving portion connected to the inlet and receiving the slurry; and an outlet comprising at least one microchannel formed by protruding in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the receiving portion.

[0014] In one embodiment, the microchannel may be provided in multiple numbers and formed on the front surface of the lower surface.

[0015] In one embodiment, the microchannel may be arranged in a matrix structure.

[0016] In one embodiment, the aspect ratio of the cross-section of the microchannel may be 6 or more.

[0017] In one embodiment, the capillary number of the microchannel is 1x10 -3 It may be less than

[0018] In one embodiment, the microchannel may have a rectangular shape in cross-section, with a long side length of 120 μm or more and 180 μm or less, and a short side length of 20 μm or more and 30 μm or less.

[0019] In one embodiment, the lower surface of the receiving portion may be a plane with a slope of 0°.

[0020] The method for manufacturing a slurry powder according to any one of claims 1 to 7 comprises: a step of manufacturing a slurry by mixing an active material, a binder, and optionally a conductive material in a solvent; a step of introducing the slurry into a receiving portion through the inlet; and a step of forming a slurry droplet as the slurry exits the microchannel.

[0021] In one embodiment, the method may further include the step of drying the slurry droplet discharged from the outlet to produce a slurry powder.

[0022] In one embodiment, the sphericity of the slurry droplet may satisfy 0.99 or more and 1 or less.

[0023] In one embodiment, the standard deviation of the sauter diameter of the slurry droplet may be 2 μm or less.

[0024] The slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention and the slurry powder manufacturing method using the same can produce slurry droplets having uniform particle size and high sphericity, thereby producing slurry powder with improved loading uniformity and flowability.

[0025] Figure 1 is a conventional slurry powder manufacturing machine.

[0026] Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the AA region shown in Figure 1.

[0027] Figure 3 is a slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the BB area shown in Figure 3.

[0029] Figure 5 is a simulation model using the microchannel of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 6 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry droplet captured in the simulation model of Figure 5.

[0031] Figure 7 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry droplet captured in the simulation model of Figure 5.

[0032] Figure 8 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry droplet prepared in the microchannel of Example 1.

[0033] Figure 9 is a 2D cross-section of the slurry prepared in the microchannel of Comparative Example 1.

[0034] Figure 10 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry droplet prepared in a microchannel of Comparative Example 2.

[0035] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0036] In this specification, parts unrelated to the description have been omitted to clearly explain the invention, and the same reference numerals have been used throughout the specification for identical or similar components.

[0037] Furthermore, the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are depicted arbitrarily for convenience of explanation, and thus the present invention is not necessarily limited to what is illustrated. Thicknesses have been enlarged in the drawings to clearly represent various layers and regions. Additionally, for convenience of explanation, the thickness of some layers and regions has been exaggerated in the drawings.

[0038] Furthermore, when a part such as a layer, membrane, region, or plate is said to be "on" or "on" another part, this includes not only cases where it is "immediately above" another part, but also cases where there is another part in between. When a part is said to be "immediately above" another part, it means that there is no other part in between. Also, saying that a part is "on" or "on" a reference part means that it is located above or below the reference part, and does not necessarily mean that it is located "on" or "on" facing the opposite direction of gravity.

[0039] Furthermore, throughout the specification, when a part is described as “comprising” a certain component, this means that, unless specifically stated otherwise, it does not exclude other components but may include additional components.

[0040]

[0041] The slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention is,

[0042] An inlet into which a slurry is introduced, comprising an active material, a conductive material, and optionally a binder mixed in a solvent;

[0043] A receiving portion connected to the inlet and receiving the slurry; and

[0044] It includes an outlet comprising at least one microchannel formed by protruding in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the above-mentioned receiving portion.

[0045]

[0046] Figure 3 is a slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 3, the slurry powder manufacturing machine (1) includes an inlet (101), a receiving portion (102), and an outlet (103).

[0048] The inlet (101) is an inlet into which the manufactured slurry is introduced. The slurry is formed by mixing an active material, a conductive material, and optionally a binder in a solvent, and may be an electrode slurry for a secondary battery.

[0049] The slurry may include an active material, a binder, and further a conductive material.

[0050] When the slurry is a slurry for the cathode, any compound known in the art capable of reversible intercalation and deintercalation of lithium can be used as the cathode active material without limitation.

[0051] Specifically, the positive electrode active material may be a lithium complex metal oxide containing one or more metals such as cobalt, manganese, nickel, or aluminum and lithium.

[0052] Specifically, examples of lithium complex metal oxides include lithium-iron-phosphorus oxides (e.g., Li 1+a Fe 1-s M s (PO 4-b )X b (wherein M is one or more elements selected from Co, Ni, Al, Mg, Ti, and V, X is F, S, or N, -0.5≤a≤+0.5, 0≤b≤0.1, 0≤s≤0.5) etc.), lithium-manganese oxides (e.g., LiMnO2, LiMn2O4, etc.), lithium-cobalt oxides (e.g., LiCoO2, etc.), lithium-nickel oxides (e.g., LiNiO2, etc.), lithium-nickel-manganese oxides (e.g., LiNi 1-Y Mn Y O2(here, 0 <Y<1)), LiMn 2-z Ni z O4 (where 0 < Z < 2), etc.), lithium-nickel-cobalt oxides (e.g., LiNi 1-Y1 Co Y1 O2(here, 0 <Y1<1) 등), 리튬-망간-코발트계 산화물(예를 들면, LiCo 1-Y2 Mn Y2 O2(here, 0 <Y2<1), LiMn 2-Z1 Co Z1O4 (where 0 < Z1 < 2), etc.), lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxides (e.g., Li(Ni p Co q Mn r1 )O2(where, 0<p<1, 0<q<1, 0<r1<1, p+q+r1=1) or Li(Ni p1 Co q1 Mn r2 )O4 (where 0<p1<2, 0<q1<2, 0<r2<2, p1+q1+r2=2), etc.), or lithium-nickel-cobalt-transition metal (M) oxide (e.g., Li(Ni p2 Co q2 Mn r3 M S2 Examples include )O2(wherein M is one or more selected from the group consisting of Al, Fe, V, Cr, Ti, Ta, Mg and Mo, and p2, q2, r3 and s2 are each atomic fractions of independent elements, 0<p2<1, 0<q2<1, 0<r3<1, 0<s2<1, p2+q2+r3+s2=1), etc.

[0053] When the slurry is a cathode slurry, a compound capable of reversible intercalation and deintercalation of lithium may be used as the cathode active material. Specific examples include carbonaceous materials such as artificial graphite, natural graphite, graphitized carbon fiber, and amorphous carbon; one or more carbon-based materials selected from the group consisting of carbon black, acetylene black, Ketjen black, Super P, graphene, and fibrous carbon; Si-based materials; and Li x Fe2O3(0≤x≤1), Li x WO2(0≤x≤1), Sn x Me 1-x Me y O z(Me: Mn, Fe, Pb, Ge; Me': Al, B, P, Si, Group 1, 2, and 3 elements of the periodic table, halogens; 0 <x≤1; 1≤y≤3; 1≤z≤8) 등의 금속 복합 산화물; 리튬 금속; Al, Cu, Ge, Si, Sn 등의 금속; 리튬 합금; 규소계 합금; 주석계 합금; SiO, SiO2, SnO, SnO2, PbO, PbO2, Pb2O3, Pb3O4, Sb2O3, Sb2O4, Sb2O5, GeO, GeO2, Bi2O3, Bi2O4, and Bi2O5등의 금속 산화물; 폴리아세틸렌 등의 도전성 고분자; Li-Co-Ni 계 재료; 티타늄 산화물; 리튬 티타늄 산화물 등을 사용할 수 있지만, 당업계에 알려진 것이라면 이들만으로 한정되는 것은 아니다.

[0054] Binders are used to enhance the bonding between the active material and the conductive material, as well as the bonding to the current collector.

[0055] Non-limiting examples of binders include polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyacrylic acid (PAA), polymethacrylic acid (PMA), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyacrylamide (PAM), polymethacrylamide, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polymethacrylonitrile, polyimide (PI), alginic acid, alginate, chitosan, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), starch, hydroxypropylcellulose, regenerated cellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone, tetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-propylene-diene polymer (EPDM), sulfonated-EPDM, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), fluororubber, and various copolymers thereof. Typically, the binder may be included in an amount of 0.1 wt% or more and 30 wt% or less based on the total weight of the slurry composition, specifically 0.5 wt% or more and 10 wt% or less, and even more specifically 1 wt% or more and 5 wt% or less.

[0056] A conductive material is used to further improve the conductivity of the active material. The conductive material is not particularly limited as long as it has electrical conductivity without causing chemical changes in the battery, and examples include graphite such as natural graphite or artificial graphite; carbon black such as carbon black, acetylene black, Ketjen black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black, or thermal black; conductive fibers such as carbon fiber or metal fiber; metal powders such as carbon fluoride, aluminum, or nickel powder; conductive whiskers such as zinc oxide or potassium titanate; conductive metal oxides such as titanium oxide; or polyphenylene derivatives. Typically, the conductive material may be included in an amount of 0.1 wt% or more and 30 wt% or less, specifically 0.5 wt% or more and 10 wt% or less, and even more specifically 1 wt% or more and 5 wt% or less, based on the total weight of the slurry composition.

[0057] In addition, other additives such as fillers that inhibit expansion may be included, or dispersants may be included to increase the dispersion efficiency of the conductive material. Fillers and dispersants may be used without particular restriction as long as they are those commonly used in secondary batteries that do not cause chemical changes in the battery.

[0058]

[0059] The receiving portion (102) receives the slurry introduced through the inlet (101). The lower surface (110) of the receiving portion (102) is a plane with a slope of 0°, and an outlet (103) is formed on the lower surface (110) of the receiving portion (102). Meanwhile, in this specification, a plane is defined as a plane parallel to the plane formed by the first direction (DR1) and the second direction (DR2). Although FIG. 3 shows the receiving portion (102) as a rectangular prism and the lower surface (110) as a square shape on a plane, the shape of the receiving portion (102) and the shape of the lower surface (110) are not particularly limited as long as the condition that the lower surface (110) is a plane is satisfied.

[0060] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the BB area shown in Figure 3.

[0061] Referring to FIGS. 3 and FIGS. 4 together, the outlet (103) includes at least one microchannel (104) formed by protruding in a rectangular shape from the lower surface (110) of the receiving portion (102).

[0062] In one embodiment, the lower surface (110) of the receiving portion (102) may be a plane with an inclination of 0°. In this embodiment, the plane is represented as a plane formed by the first direction (DR1) and the second direction (DR2).

[0063] For example, the outlet (103) may include a plurality of microchannels (104). The microchannels (104) may be provided in a plurality and formed on the front surface of the bottom surface (110), specifically arranged in a matrix structure. However, the arrangement of the microchannels (104) is not limited thereto.

[0064] The microchannel (104) has a rectangular shape with open top and bottom as shown in FIG. 4. The microchannel (104) has one end (105) connected to the bottom surface (110) of the receiving portion (102) and the other end (106) opposite to the one end (105). The one end (105) and the other end (106) face each other in a third direction (DR3).

[0065] One end (105) serves as an inlet for slurry to flow from the receiving portion (102) into the microchannel (104), and the other end (106) serves as an outlet for slurry to be discharged out of the microchannel (104). That is, the other end (106) of the microchannel (104) serves as a practical outlet. Slurry contained in the receiving portion (102) passes through one end (105) of the microchannel (104) and falls in the form of a slurry droplet from the other end (106) in the third direction (DR3). The microchannel (104) has a rectangular shape in cross-section, specifically maintaining a constant rectangular shape from one end (105) to the other end (106). In FIG. 4, as an example, the cross-section of the microchannel (104) is shown as a rectangle having a short side parallel to the first direction (DR1) and a long side parallel to the second direction (DR2). In one embodiment, the microchannel (104) may have a long side length of 120 μm or more and 180 μm or less and a short side length of 20 μm or more and 30 μm or less in cross-section. Meanwhile, if the cross-section of the microchannel (104) satisfies the condition of being rectangular, the directions of the short side and the long side may be changed within the plane formed by the first direction (DR1) and the second direction (DR2).

[0066] In addition, the slurry powder manufacturing machine (1) of the present invention satisfies an aspect ratio of 6 or more for the cross-section of the microchannel (104) and a capillary number of 1x10 -3 The following is satisfied. As the above range is satisfied, the slurry droplet formed in the microchannel (104) can have a uniform particle size and high sphericity. For example, the sphericity of the slurry droplet can satisfy 0.99 or more and 1 or less.

[0067]

[0068] The method for manufacturing a slurry powder according to the present invention is,

[0069] In the above-mentioned slurry powder manufacturing machine,

[0070] A step of preparing a slurry by mixing an active material, a binder, and optionally a conductive material in a solvent;

[0071] A step of introducing the slurry into the receiving portion through the inlet; and

[0072] The step of forming a slurry droplet as the slurry passes through the microchannel; is included.

[0073]

[0074] The method for manufacturing a slurry powder according to the present invention comprises the steps of manufacturing a slurry, introducing the slurry into a receiving portion, and forming a slurry droplet.

[0075] The step of preparing the slurry is to prepare the slurry by mixing the active material, the binder, and optionally the conductive material in a solvent. The descriptions for the active material, the binder, the conductive material, and the solvent are applied in the same manner as those described above. Mixing may be carried out using a mixer used in the industry.

[0076] The step of introducing the slurry into the receiving section is to introduce the manufactured slurry into the receiving section (102) through the inlet (101). The slurry introduced into the inlet (101) can be introduced into the receiving section (102) by gravity. Subsequently, the step of forming slurry droplets proceeds. The slurry introduced into the receiving section (102) exits through the microchannel (104) located on the lower surface of the receiving section (102). The description regarding the microchannel (104) applies in the same manner as previously described. That is, the microchannel (104) has a rectangular shape protruding from the lower surface (110) of the receiving section (102), and accordingly, the slurry exiting the microchannel (104) falls in the shape of a slurry droplet. The aspect ratio of the cross-section of the microchannel (104) satisfies 6 or more, and the capillary number is 1x10 -3The following conditions are satisfied. Accordingly, the slurry droplet formed in the microchannel (104) can have a uniform particle size and high sphericity.

[0077] A method for manufacturing a slurry powder according to one embodiment may further include the step of manufacturing a slurry powder by drying a slurry droplet discharged from an outlet. This is a step of evaporating the solvent contained in the slurry droplet. The solvent is removed from the slurry droplet to produce a slurry powder in the form of granules. As the slurry droplet has a uniform particle size and high sphericity, the slurry powder manufactured by drying it can also have a uniform particle size and high sphericity.

[0078] The slurry powder manufacturing apparatus and the slurry powder manufacturing method using the same according to the present invention provide a slurry powder having uniform particle size and high sphericity, thereby improving the flowability of the slurry powder and reducing deviation during slurry powder loading. Accordingly, high-quality electrodes can be manufactured compared to conventional methods in electrode manufacturing processes, etc.

[0079]

[0080] The characteristics of the slurry droplets produced in the slurry powder manufacturing machine (1) of the present invention are evaluated through the following experiments.

[0081]

[0082] Experimental Example 1

[0083] Figure 5 is a simulation model using the microchannel of the present invention.

[0084] Referring to FIG. 5, a simulation was performed to observe the shape of the slurry droplet generated in the microchannel (104) described in FIG. 4. As a simulation model, one of the microchannels (104) described in FIG. 4 was connected to an air-filled container (100), and the shape of the slurry droplet falling from the microchannel (104) into the container (100) was captured. Specifically, slurry was introduced into one end (105) of the microchannel (104), and the shape of the slurry droplet formed at the other end (106) was captured.

[0085] The flow rate of one microchannel (104) used in the experiment is 0.225 l / min. The cross-section dimensions, cross-sectional aspect ratio, and dimensionless number of the microchannel (104) are shown in Table 1 below.

[0086] In Table 1, the dimensionless capillary number (hereinafter Ca), Reynolds number (hereinafter Re), and Weber number (hereinafter We) were evaluated, and each value was measured at one end (105) of the microchannel (104). Ca was calculated as (viscous stress / interfacial stress), Re as (inertial stress / viscous stress), and We as (inertial stress / interfacial stress). For reference, in Table 1, the We value was rounded to the seventh decimal place.

[0087] Cross-sectional dimensions (㎛) Cross-sectional aspect ratio Dimensionless Length Length Length 6CaReWe150251x10 -3 6x10 -4 1x10 -6

[0088] Figures 6 and 7 are 2D cross-sections of a slurry droplet captured in the simulation model of Figure 5. For the captured slurry droplet, the sauter diameter and sphericity were measured and are shown in Table 2 below.

[0089] Souter Diameter (㎛) Sphericity 1st Droplet 2nd Droplet 3rd Droplet 1st Droplet 2nd Droplet 3rd Droplet 100 102 990.99 20.99 70.99 3

[0090] Referring to Table 2, Figures 6 and 7, the simulation results confirmed that droplets with an average souter diameter of 101 μm and a standard deviation of 2 μm were periodically produced. Accordingly, it was determined that the particle size of the droplets was uniformly produced. In addition, it was confirmed that droplets with an average sphericity of 0.994 and a standard deviation of 0.002 were periodically produced. The closer the sphericity is to 1, the closer the shape is to a sphere. In other words, it was determined in this experiment that the slurry droplets were produced while maintaining a spherical shape.

[0091] Experimental Example 2

[0092] Droplets prepared in the microchannels of Example 1, Comparative Example 1, and Comparative Example 2 were evaluated.

[0093] Table 3 below shows the aspect ratio and capillary number (hereinafter Ca) of the cross-sections of the microchannels of Example 1, Comparative Example 1, and Comparative Example 2.

[0094] In addition, the presence or absence of droplet formation, the time required for droplet formation, the souter diameter of the droplet, and the sphericity of the droplet were evaluated and presented in the microchannels of Example 1, Comparative Example 1, and Comparative Example 2. The presence or absence of droplet formation was evaluated as [O] if the droplet was formed within 0.3 seconds, and as [X] if the droplet was not formed within 0.3 seconds.

[0095] Classification Example 1 Comparative Example 1 Comparative Example 2 Manufacturing Conditions Cross-sectional Aspect Ratio 66 1Ca 0.00 10.5 0.00 1 Manufacturing Result Droplet Preparation Presence [O][X][X] Droplet Preparation Time (s) 0.1086 -- Souter Diameter (㎛) 100 -- Sphericity 0.994 --

[0096] FIG. 8 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry droplet prepared in a microchannel of Example 1. FIG. 9 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry prepared in a microchannel of Comparative Example 1.

[0097] Figure 10 is a 2D cross-section of a slurry droplet prepared in a microchannel of Comparative Example 2.

[0098] Referring to Table 3 and Fig. 8 together, the microchannel of Example 1 satisfies an aspect ratio of 6 or more and a Ca value of 1x10 -3 Satisfying the following, the slurry was discharged in the form of droplets within an appropriate time. In addition, the generated droplets had a spherical shape with a sphericity close to 1.

[0099] Referring to Table 3 and Fig. 9 together, the microchannel of Comparative Example 1 satisfies an aspect ratio of 6 or more, but Ca is 1x10 -3 As it exceeded [value], the slurry was discharged in the form of a stream of water and no droplets were generated.

[0100] Referring to Table 3 and Fig. 10 together, the microchannel of Comparative Example 2 contains 1x10 Ca -3 Although the following conditions are satisfied, as the aspect ratio becomes smaller than 6, it takes a long time to manufacture droplets.

[0101] In conclusion, the microchannel of the present invention satisfies an aspect ratio of 6 or more, and Ca is 1x10 -3 It was confirmed that a droplet close to spherical shape can be produced within a short time of about 0.1 seconds by satisfying the following.

[0102]

[0103] Therefore, it was confirmed that the slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention, which includes multiple microchannels as outlets, can produce a large quantity of droplets having a uniform diameter and a spherical shape.

[0104] In addition, the method for manufacturing a slurry powder using the slurry powder manufacturing machine of the present invention can provide a slurry droplet having a uniform particle size and high sphericity, and dry the droplet to provide a slurry powder having a uniform particle size and high sphericity.

[0105]

[0106] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention as defined in the following claims are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0107] [Explanation of the symbol]

[0108] 1: Slurry powder manufacturing machine

[0109] 101: Inlet

[0110] 102: Reception Department

[0111] 103: Outlet

[0112] 104: Microchannel

[0113] 105: One end of the microchannel

[0114] 106: The other end of the microchannel

[0115] 100: Container

Claims

1. An inlet into which a slurry is introduced, comprising an active material, a conductive material, and optionally a binder mixed in a solvent; A receiving portion connected to the inlet and receiving the slurry; and A slurry powder manufacturing machine comprising: an outlet including at least one microchannel formed by protruding in a rectangular shape on the lower surface of the receiving portion.

2. In Paragraph 1, A slurry powder manufacturing machine in which the above-mentioned microchannels are provided in multiple numbers and formed on the front surface of the above-mentioned lower surface.

3. In Paragraph 1, A slurry powder manufacturing machine in which the above microchannels are arranged in a matrix structure.

4. In Paragraph 1, A slurry powder manufacturing machine having an aspect ratio of the cross-section of the microchannel of the above-mentioned amount to 6 or more.

5. In Paragraph 1, The capillary number of the above microchannel is 1 x 10 -3 A slurry powder manufacturing machine that is as follows.

6. In Paragraph 1, A slurry powder manufacturing machine in which the microchannel has a rectangular shape in cross-section, a long side length of 120 μm or more and 180 μm or less, and a short side length of 20 μm or more and 30 μm or less.

7. In Paragraph 1, A slurry powder manufacturing machine in which the lower surface of the above-mentioned receiving portion is a flat plane with a slope of 0°.

8. In a slurry powder manufacturing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, A step of preparing a slurry by mixing an active material, a binder, and optionally a conductive material in a solvent; A step of introducing the slurry into the receiving portion through the inlet; and A method for manufacturing a slurry powder comprising the step of forming a slurry droplet as the slurry passes through the microchannel.

9. In Paragraph 8, A method for manufacturing a slurry powder, further comprising the step of drying the slurry droplet discharged from the above outlet to manufacture a slurry powder.

10. In Paragraph 8, A method for manufacturing a slurry powder in which the sphericity of the above slurry droplet satisfies 0.99 or more and 1 or less.

11. In Paragraph 8, A method for manufacturing a slurry powder in which the standard deviation of the sauter diameter of the above slurry droplet is 2 μm or less.

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