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CN-121983572-A - Method and apparatus for preparing ternary cathode material

CN121983572ACN 121983572 ACN121983572 ACN 121983572ACN-121983572-A

Abstract

A method for producing a ternary cathode material (130) for a lithium battery by firing a raw material (110) in a firing furnace (120), wherein an atmosphere is provided in the firing furnace (120), wherein the injection of a gas component (a) of the atmosphere into the firing furnace (120) is controlled in a closed-loop control manner on the basis of at least one measured process influencing parameter, and an apparatus for producing a ternary cathode material (130) are disclosed.

Inventors

  • FENG TAO
  • WEI ZHONGLING

Assignees

  • 林德有限责任公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20190226

Claims (9)

  1. 1. A method for producing a ternary cathode material (130) for a lithium battery by firing a raw material (110) in a firing furnace (120), wherein an atmosphere is provided in the firing furnace (120), Wherein the injection of the gas component (a) of the atmosphere into the calciner (120) is controlled in a closed-loop control based on at least one process-influencing parameter being measured, Wherein the gas component (a) is injected into two or more regions (126) of the baking furnace (120) using two or more gas injection lances (140), wherein one of the two or more gas injection lances is used for one of the two or more regions (126), and the gas component (a) is distributed to each of the two or more gas injection lances (140) by a control means (150) at a predetermined and variable ratio, Wherein each of the two or more gas injection lances (140) is provided at an end thereof with one or more nozzles (142) in the form of channels having a predetermined direction selected between 20 DEG and 70 DEG with respect to a longitudinal axis of the roasting furnace (120) so that a gas component (a) injected through the nozzles can generate turbulence, wherein the two or more gas injection lances (140) are respectively disposed in different regions of the two or more regions (126) of the roasting furnace (120) along a moving path of the roasting raw material and inject a gas component (a) of oxygen into the different regions of the two or more regions (126) respectively, Wherein a continuous roll hearth furnace or a pusher furnace is used as the roasting furnace (120).
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas component is provided to the gas injection lance (140) at a pressure between 0.5 bar and 10 bar.
  3. 3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas injection lance (140) is at least partially made of a ceramic coated material or is made of ceramic.
  4. 4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one process influencing parameter is selected from parameters characterizing the raw material (110) and/or the atmosphere and/or the ternary cathode material (130).
  5. 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the gaseous component (a) in the atmosphere is oxygen.
  6. 6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the ternary cathode material (130) comprises nickel cobalt manganese or nickel cobalt aluminum.
  7. 7. An apparatus (100) for preparing a ternary cathode material (130) for a lithium ion battery, said apparatus comprising a baking furnace (120) in which an atmosphere and a raw material (110) to be baked can be provided, Characterized by comprising injection means (140) for injecting a gas component (a) of the atmosphere into the roasting furnace (120), control means (150) for controlling the injection of the gas component (a) in a closed-loop control manner based on at least one measured process influencing parameter, wherein two or more gas injection lances (140) are used for injecting the gas component (a) into two or more zones (126) of the roasting furnace (120), wherein one of the two or more zones (126) is used with one of the two or more gas injection lances, and the control means (150) distributes the gas component (a) to each of the two or more gas injection lances (140) in a predetermined and variable ratio, wherein each of the two or more gas injection lances provides one or more nozzles (142) in the form of channels having a predetermined direction selected between 20 DEG and 70 DEG with respect to the longitudinal axis of the roasting furnace, whereby the gas injection lances (140) are capable of generating turbulence in the two or more different zones (126) by means of the injection of the gas component (a) in the two or more zones (126) being respectively arranged along separate turbulence in the two or more zones (126), wherein a continuous roll hearth furnace or a pusher furnace is used as the roasting furnace (120).
  8. 8. The apparatus (100) of claim 7, wherein the gas injection lance has a nozzle at its end and/or is mounted at the roof or side wall of the roasting furnace.
  9. 9. The device (100) according to claim 7 or 8, further being adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Description

Method and apparatus for preparing ternary cathode material The application is a divisional application of the application application with the application number 201980091493.5, the application date 2019, 2 months and 26 days and the application name of 'method and equipment for preparing ternary cathode materials'. Technical Field The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for preparing ternary cathode materials for lithium batteries by firing raw materials in a firing furnace. Background The markets for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles are rapidly growing. This creates an increasing demand for lithium batteries or lithium ion batteries commonly used in the automotive industry. Lithium batteries include cathode materials and anode materials, among other components. The process of preparing these materials and components thereof typically uses gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon. Due to the demand for long-range electric and hybrid vehicles, the lithium battery industry is seeking higher energy ratio cathode materials and corresponding solutions. So-called ternary cathode materials with higher energy density have become a trend in the industry. Such ternary cathode materials for lithium batteries are typically prepared by firing raw materials in a firing furnace, thereby providing an atmosphere in the firing furnace. The present invention aims to improve the possibility of obtaining a product from a raw material baked in a baking furnace, and thus to provide a better lithium battery. Disclosure of Invention This object is achieved by providing a method and an apparatus according to the independent claims. A method according to the invention is for preparing a ternary cathode material for a lithium battery (or lithium ion battery) by firing raw materials in a firing furnace, wherein an atmosphere is provided in the firing furnace. A continuous roll hearth furnace or a pusher furnace is preferably used as the roasting furnace. Typically and preferably, the ternary cathode materials are nickel cobalt manganese and nickel cobalt aluminum. Typical temperatures for such calcination processes are between 700 ℃ and 1000 ℃, and calcination processes typically last between 10 hours and 18 hours. The chemical reactions that occur during the firing process may be described by the following formula, where M represents Ni (nickel), mn (manganese), co (cobalt), and/or Al (aluminum): M(OH)2+ 0.5 Li2CO3+ 0.25 O2= LiMO2+ 0.5 CO2+ H2O M(OH)2+ LiOH.H2O + 0.25 O2= LiMO2+ 2.5 H2O In particular, oxygen plays an important role in the process because it aids in oxidation, such as oxidation of Ni 2+ to Ni 3+. However, if the temperature prevailing in the calciner is too high, ni 3+ faces decomposition problems. Thus, the ternary cathode material may be susceptible to decomposition at high or excessively high temperatures. Thus, the firing process should be kept as low as possible to ensure that Ni 3+ will not undergo decomposition. Another object is to provide a uniform temperature distribution and/or a uniform atmosphere within the furnace to allow all the raw materials in the furnace to be exposed to the same process conditions. According to the invention, the injection of the gaseous component, preferably oxygen, in the atmosphere into the calciner is controlled in a closed-loop control manner (i.e. by closed-loop control) on the basis of the at least one process-influencing parameter being measured. Specifically, closed-loop control is automatically performed using a control module or the like. Such process-affecting parameters may be any parameters that affect the process. Preferably, the at least one process influencing parameter is selected from the group consisting of parameters characterizing the feedstock (e.g. specific composition of the feedstock) and/or parameters characterizing the atmosphere (e.g. the presence of gaseous components (e.g. oxygen, carbon dioxide) and their specific ratio or humidity) and/or parameters characterizing the ternary cathode material (e.g. its specific composition). To measure such parameters, corresponding measuring and/or analyzing means may be provided at appropriate locations. Advantageously, the gas injection lance is used to inject the gas component into one or more regions of the calciner. In particular, the gas injection lance is mounted or disposed at the roof or side wall of the roasting furnace. In the case of more than one zone, one of these gas injection lances may be used for each zone. In addition, two or more of these gas injection lances may be used in one or more of these areas. The zones of the calciner may be defined based on zones or zones having different process parameters, such as different zones having different temperatures and/or different speeds for moving the feedstock through the calciner. Such gas injection lances allow very precise injection and thus enable a very uniform supply of gas in the calciner. However, the zones can also be assi