Abstract:
With the number of retired lithium-ion batteries expected to multiply exponentially over the next 3 to 5 years, there is a growing need for high-throughput, fully integrated, intelligent charged crushing pyrolysis equipment capable of processing charged batteries. Such equipment is essential to overcome current challenges, including low levels of system integration, high process losses, intensive manual labor, and substantial environmental pollution. Using the optimized high-throughput, integrated, intelligent charged crushing equipment developed by Advanced Corporation for Materials & Equipment Co., Ltd., a batch of ten tons of retired lithium iron phosphate square aluminum shell batteries was processed to recover copper, aluminum granules, and black powder. The resulting products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, and a particle size analyzer to determine phase composition, morphology, elemental content, and particle size. Energy consumption and recovery rates were also evaluated. The results indicate that the puncture discharge time was ≤30 minutes, with batteries discharged to 0.15 V and a discharge efficiency of 95.15%. The overall recovery ratio from charged crushing of lithium iron phosphate batteries reached 98.5%, with copper purity of (99.4±0.2)% and aluminum purity of (99.16±0.3)%. The black powder primarily consisted of lithium iron phosphate and graphite, with a lithium content of (2.4±0.4)%, carbon content of (20±5)%, and impurity levels of copper and aluminum at (0.32±0.13)% and (0.18±0.05)%, respectively. The processing cost was no more than 1,500 CNY/t, offering stable and reliable equipment to support the development of the lithium battery recycling industry.