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EP-4741049-A1 - ELECTRODE SLURRY STORAGE TANK

EP4741049A1EP 4741049 A1EP4741049 A1EP 4741049A1EP-4741049-A1

Abstract

A storage tank for storing an electrode slurry according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a tank body that stores the electrode slurry in its inside; and an inflow port that is provided at an upper part of the tank body and supplies the electrode slurry into the inside of the tank body, wherein the electrode slurry supplied from the inflow port, with an open end of the inflow port being directed toward the inner wall of the tank body, reaches the inner wall of the tank body and then flows down along the inner wall of the tank body, and wherein the length of the open end of the inflow port in the horizontal direction is larger than the length in the vertical direction.

Inventors

  • CHOI, YOHAN
  • CHUNG, Changkwon

Assignees

  • LG Energy Solution, Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241202

Claims (15)

  1. A storage tank for storing an electrode slurry, comprising: a tank body that stores the electrode slurry in its inside; and an inflow port that is provided at an upper part of the tank body and supplies the electrode slurry into the inside of the tank body, wherein an open end of the inflow port being directed toward an inner wall of the tank body such that the electrode slurry supplied from the inflow port reaches the inner wall of the tank body and then flows down along the inner wall of the tank body, and wherein a length of the open end of the inflow port in a horizontal direction is larger than a length in a vertical direction.
  2. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein an aspect ratio of the open end of the inflow port is larger than an aspect ratio of a vertical cross section of a piping connected to the inflow port, and a vertical cross-sectional area of the open end of the inflow port is equal to or smaller than a vertical cross-sectional area of the piping.
  3. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein a circumference of the open end of the inflow port is equal to a circumference of a vertical cross-section of a piping connected to the inflow port.
  4. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein an aspect ratio of the open end of the inflow port is more than 1 time and 5 times or less of an aspect ratio of a vertical cross section of a piping connected to the inflow port.
  5. The storage tank according to claim 4, wherein an aspect ratio of the open end of the inflow port is 1.5 times or more and 3 times or less of an aspect ratio of a vertical cross section of the piping connected to the inflow port.
  6. The storage tank according to claim 2, wherein a vertical cross-sectional area of the open end of the inflow port is 38.5% or more and less than 100% of a vertical cross-sectional area of the piping.
  7. The storage tank according to claim 6, wherein a vertical cross-sectional area of the open end of the inflow port is 60% or more and 92.3% or less of a vertical cross-sectional area of the piping.
  8. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the open end of the inflow port includes an elliptical shape.
  9. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the open end of the inflow port includes a rectangular shape.
  10. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the open end of the inflow port has a circular shape.
  11. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the open end of the inflow port is manufactured by pressing an end of a piping connected to the inflow port by a press process.
  12. The storage tank according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature control unit surrounding the tank body, wherein the electrode slurry that has reached the inner wall of the tank body exchanges heat with the temperature control unit while flowing down along the inner wall of the tank body.
  13. The storage tank according to claim 12, wherein the temperature control unit surrounds an outer wall of the tank body or is integrated with the outer wall, and a coolant flows inside the temperature control unit to exchange heat with the electrode slurry.
  14. The storage tank according to claim 1, further comprising a stirrer that is provided inside the tank body, and has blades that rotate around a rotation axis to stir the electrode slurry.
  15. The storage tank according to claim 1, wherein the storage tank is connected to a mixer for preparing an electrode slurry, and receives supply of the electrode slurry from the mixer, and the electrode slurry is prepared by mixing electrode raw materials including an electrode active material, a conductive material, and a binder.

Description

[TECHNICAL FIELD] Cross-Reference to Related Application(s) This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0178547, filed on December 11, 2023, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present disclosure relates to a storage tank for electrode slurry, and more particularly, to a storage tank that reduces the temperature deviation between the electrode slurry transferred and flowing into the tank and the slurry previously stored in the tank. [BACKGROUND] The use of mobile devices such as cell phones, laptops, camcorders and digital cameras, and energy storage systems(ESS) has been routinized in modern society, which accelerates the development of technologies in the fields related to the mobile devices. Further, as a measure to solve the atmospheric pollution caused from existing gasoline vehicles that uses fossil fuels, rechargeable secondary batteries are being used as power sources for electric vehicles(EV), hybrid electric vehicles(HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles(P-HEV) and so on. Thus, the necessity to develop the secondary batteries is increasing. Presently, commercially available batteries include nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, and lithium batteries. Of these batteries, lithium secondary batteries are emerging as the most popular, as they are freely rechargeable, have low self-discharge rates, and have high energy density. A lithium secondary battery generally uses lithium-based oxide and a carbon material as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material respectively. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate respectively coated with the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material are disposed with a separator interposed between them, and an exterior material, i.e., battery case, which hermetically houses the electrode assembly together with an electrolyte. The manufacturing process of such a lithium secondary battery is roughly classified into an electrode process, an assembly process, and a formation process. Among these processes, the electrode process includes, specifically, processes such as mixing, coating, drying, roll pressing, taping, and slitting. In the mixing process, in which raw materials such as an electrode active material, a conductive material and a binder are mixed to prepare an electrode slurry in a uniform state, heat of mixing is generated, so that the temperature of the electrode slurry gradually rises. In the subsequent transportation process, the electrode slurry temperature is adjusted to a desired temperature through cooling water while passing through multiple tanks. Next, the electrode slurry transported through such multiple tanks is provided on an electrode current collector in a coater and coated. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an electrode slurry storage tank according to a prior art. The storage tank 1 of the prior art includes a tank body 10, a stirrer 20 that is provided inside the tank body 10 and stirs the electrode slurry, and a piping 30 that supplies the electrode slurry into the inside of the tank body 10. The piping 30 generally has a circular cross section, and similarly, a discharge port 40 located at the end of the piping 30 is also manufactured to have a circular cross section. Meanwhile, since a temperature difference exists between the electrode slurry supplied into the inside of the tank body 10 through the discharge port 40 and the electrode slurry previously stored in the tank body 10, there is a need to provide a method that can reduce this temperature difference. [DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION] [Technical Problem] It is an object of the present disclosure to reduce the temperature deviation between the electrode slurry previously stored in the tank body and the electrode slurry supplied into the inside of the tank. However, the technical objects solved by the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to those disclosed above, and may be expanded in various ways within the scope of the technical idea included in the present disclosure. [Technical Solution] A storage tank for storing an electrode slurry according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a tank body that stores the electrode slurry in its inside; and an inflow port that is provided at an upper part of the tank body and supplies the electrode slurry into the inside of the tank body, wherein an open end of the inflow port being directed toward an inner wall of the tank body such that the electrode slurry supplied from the inflow port reaches the inner wall of the tank body and then flows down along the inner wall of the tank body, and wherein a length of the open end of the inflow port in a horizontal direction is large