KR-102963860-B1 - POWDER MIXING APPARATUS

Abstract

The powder mixing device of the present invention comprises a powder supply unit for supplying powder, one or more mixers for heating and mixing powder supplied from the powder supply unit, a cooler connected to the mixer for cooling the heated powder, and a pressure equalization line connecting the powder supply unit, the mixer, and the cooler, and maintaining the pressure of each of the powder supply unit, the mixer, and the cooler equally.

Inventors

• 김태원
• 안재성

Assignees

• (주)포스코퓨처엠

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240429

Claims (8)

1. Powder supply unit for supplying powder; Two mixers for heating and mixing the powder supplied from the above powder supply unit; A cooler connected to the two mixers above and cooling the heated powder; and A pressure equalization line connecting the powder supply unit, two mixers, and a cooler, and maintaining the pressure of each of the powder supply unit, two mixers, and cooler equally; The above pressure equalization line is, A first pipe connecting the powder supply unit and the cooler; and A powder mixing device comprising: a second pipe connecting the two mixers and communicating with the first pipe.
2. delete
3. In paragraph 1, The above cooler is, A powder mixing device that receives powder from one of the two mixers, cools it, and discharges it to the outside, and then receives powder from the other mixer, cools it, and discharges it to the outside.
4. delete
5. In paragraph 1, The above pressure equalization line is, A powder mixing device further comprising a control valve installed in one or more of the first pipe and the second pipe.
6. In paragraph 1, A powder mixing device further comprising a scattering prevention member installed in the powder supply section to prevent foreign substances from scattering.
7. In paragraph 1, The above-mentioned pressure equalization line is a powder mixing device further comprising an inclined section formed at an angle.
8. In Paragraph 7, A powder mixing device in which the angle of inclination of the above-mentioned inclined section is included in the range of 40 to 50 degrees with respect to the adjacent pressure equalization line.

Description

Powder Mixing Apparatus The present invention relates to a powder mixing device. The four major components of a secondary battery are commonly referred to as the cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator. Among these, the cathode, anode, and separator are considered core materials because they determine the overall performance of the secondary battery. Secondary batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, generally generate electricity through the chemical reaction of lithium ions moving between the cathode and the anode. Here, while the cathode determines the overall capacity and voltage of the battery, the anode plays the role of storing and releasing lithium ions from the cathode. As such, the anode material, which stores lithium ions, affects the battery's charging speed and lifespan. It is no exaggeration to say that battery performance varies depending on the performance of the anode material. Furthermore, as the development of cathode materials has recently reached its limits, the development of anode material technology has become an even more critical factor in improving battery performance. Natural graphite, synthetic graphite, and silicon are used as materials to produce cathode materials. Natural graphite is produced as a cathode material through a process of mining naturally occurring graphite and purifying it. Natural graphite is characterized by a well-developed internal layered structure, which allows for the stable storage of lithium ions and offers the advantage of a large storage capacity. Furthermore, compared to synthetic graphite, it has a higher graphitization level and is cheaper, making it superior in terms of price competitiveness. Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating a general method for manufacturing a cathode material. Referring to FIG. 1, a general method for manufacturing a cathode material (S10) includes a grinding step (S11), an assembly step (S12), a heating step (S13), and a coating step (S14). The grinding step (S11) is a step of grinding the coke particles to a particle size that exhibits optimal performance as a cathode material. In the grinding step (S11), a carbon-based raw material is ground. The carbon-based raw material may include needle cokes, mosaic cokes, coal tar pitch, resin pitch, or two or more of these. The average particle size (D50) of the above-mentioned pulverized carbon-based raw material may be 1 μm to 20 μm, or 5 μm to 15 μm. The average particle size (D50) of the above-mentioned pulverized carbon-based raw material can be measured using a particle size meter (DC24000 UHR, CPS Instrument) via the laser diffraction method after preparing a sample by diluting it in deionized water to 1 wt%. When grinding the above carbon-based raw material, grinding conditions and a grinder can be appropriately selected by paying attention to the grinding characteristics of the carbon-based raw material, such as high abrasion, hygroscopicity, lubricity, and impact strength, and low specific gravity and elastic modulus. The assembly step (S12) is a step of combining coke with a binder to form particles. The heating step (S13) is a step of changing the structure of the coke raw material into graphite by heat treatment with heat at 3000 degrees. More specifically, the heating step can be carried out using devices such as an Etchison graphitization furnace, a box-type graphitization furnace, or a lengthwise graphitization furnace. The processing temperature for graphitization is not particularly limited, but graphitization can be performed in a range of, for example, 2,000 to 3,500°C, 2,500 to 3,500°C, 2,800 to 3,500°C, or 2,800 to 3,200°C. When the graphitization treatment satisfies the above temperature range, crystallization of the graphite proceeds, and the resulting artificial graphite has ductility and can be easily processed, and since sublimation of the graphite surface is minimal, the temperature can be easily raised. Although various methods can be applied for the above graphitization, the assembled product can be embedded in a furnace, and an Acheson furnace, which generates heat by passing an electric current from an electrode to the sintered body, or an induction furnace, which generates heat by flowing an induced current through an induction coil to the sintered body, can be used. The coating step (S14) is a step of uniformly coating the artificial graphite surface with pitch. When applying heat to the furnace during the cathode material production process, the combustion gases are drawn out to discharge the combustion gases from the furnace, and the furnace becomes a negative pressure state due to the suction force of the chimney. At this time, air enters the furnace and often lowers the temperature partially, affecting the heated product, so a control device is installed at the discharge part to regulate the pressure. At this time, if the pressure rises and changes to positive pressure, combustion gases inside the furnace may be pushed out to the outside, a