New Energy Industry - Cobalt Nickel Lithium Processing Electric Furnace and Automation System

Electric Furnaces for Cobalt, Nickel, and Lithium Processing

1. Rotary Kiln
   • Core Application: It is mainly used for the roasting of cobalt - nickel raw ores, the thermal decomposition of waste lithium - battery electrodes, and the sintering of lithium iron phosphate black powder. For example, the continuous atmosphere rotary calcining kiln independently developed by Longxin Drying is well - applied in the thermal decomposition of lithium - battery electrodes and the sintering of lithium iron phosphate black powder.
   • Key Features: The furnace body adopts a composite furnace liner made of N6 alloy and stainless steel SUS310S, which is corrosion - resistant during long - term use. It is equipped with a precision atmosphere guarantee system and an upgraded sealing system. The spiral flow - guiding inner liner and zoned temperature control technology enable uniform heating of materials. The surface temperature rise of the insulated furnace chamber is less than 50°C, resulting in low heat loss.
2. Roller Hearth Furnace
   • Core Application: It is suitable for the continuous firing of powder materials such as lithium cobaltate and ternary cobalt - nickel - manganese materials in an oxidizing atmosphere. It is a key equipment in the mass production of lithium - battery cathode materials.
   • Key Features: Yixing Bangshida Furnace Industry's BGD - 120 - 10 electric roller hearth furnace is a typical product. Its rated temperature is 1200°C, and the temperature control accuracy is ≤±1°C. The furnace uses high - density and high - purity silicon carbide rods for heating. The inlet and outlet are equipped with sealed gates, which can ensure that the oxygen content in the sintering area is less than 30ppm. It adopts frequency conversion stepless speed regulation, and the transmission speed can be adjusted between 800 - 2000mm/h, which is suitable for continuous large - batch production.
3. Medium - Frequency Induction Melting Furnace
   • Core Application: It is mainly used for the smelting of cobalt - nickel alloys and the laboratory research of cobalt - nickel - lithium alloy materials. For instance, the CY - IV700 - 60KW nickel - cobalt alloy medium - frequency induction melting experimental furnace can smelt and prepare nickel - cobalt alloys under vacuum or protective atmosphere conditions.
   • Key Features: The maximum smelting temperature can reach 1600°C. It is equipped with a high - vacuum molecular pump unit to improve the vacuum degree of the furnace and the smelting quality. The stainless steel water - cooled cavity is equipped with a quartz observation window for observing the smelting situation. It also has a lifting platform and a flipping handle, facilitating casting and sampling after smelting.
4. Pusher Furnace
   • Core Application: It is applicable to the sintering of high - performance cobalt - nickel - lithium materials and nuclear - grade powders. It is often used in scenarios that require high temperature stability, such as the sintering of special lithium - battery cathode materials.
   • Key Features: Huayou Kiln's pusher furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 1700°C and a common temperature of 1650°C. It adopts molybdenum wire as the heating element and can place materials in double rows and multiple layers. Similar to the rotary kiln, its insulated furnace chamber has low heat loss, and the equipment structure is compact, which is easy to maintain.

Automation Systems for Cobalt, Nickel, and Lithium Processing Electric Furnaces

1. Basic Control System
   • Temperature and Speed Control: Most electric furnaces adopt PID automatic temperature control. For example, the roller hearth furnace uses a thyristor single - phase voltage regulation method for temperature control, with 38 groups of temperature control units. It is equipped with intelligent temperature regulators that have functions such as over - temperature alarm and thermocouple breakage indication. The transmission system of the roller hearth furnace uses frequency conversion speed regulation, and the main drive motor is equipped with phase failure protection and over - current protection.
   • Atmosphere Regulation: The continuous rotary calcining kiln uses multi - sensor fusion technology to conduct millisecond - level precise control of the gas composition and flow rate in the furnace. It can automatically adjust the air intake and exhaust volume through intelligent algorithms. The roller hearth furnace is provided with 14 air intake pipes in the preheating and firing sections, and an exhaust pipe on the top of the furnace head. It uses a furnace pressure negative feedback design to automatically control the furnace pressure with a control accuracy of ±10Pa.
2. Centralized Monitoring and Control System
   • DCS Distributed Control System: It is widely used in large - scale cobalt - nickel processing projects. Taking the Indonesian Hanrui nickel - cobalt project as an example, its DCS system integrates the monitoring of the entire plant's equipment, covering key processes such as high - pressure leaching and flash evaporation. It can collect real - time data and achieve remote control, which is convenient for managers to grasp the operation status of electric furnaces and other equipment in a centralized manner.
   • Upper Computer Monitoring: Taizhou Shikong Automation's control system uses upper computer software and general Ethernet communication to collect and control data of all equipment. It has a complete data management and alarm recording function, which can record the occurrence, handling, and end of events. Operators can monitor and control some equipment in the workshop on the upper computer.
3. Safety and Intelligent Optimization System
   • Safety Interlock Protection: The SIS safety instrument system is configured for high - risk links. For example, the Indonesian Hanrui nickel - cobalt project sets up emergency shutdown and interlock protection for high - risk equipment such as high - pressure reactors. The roller hearth furnace is equipped with over - temperature alarm devices for each temperature zone, and each zone has an independent air switch. The rotary calcining kiln is also equipped with an over - temperature alarm system and a pressure protection device.
   • Intelligent Optimization Modules: Some advanced systems use AI algorithms to dynamically adjust parameters such as leaching temperature and acid - ore ratio to improve metal recovery rate. Online analysis instruments such as XRF X - ray fluorescence spectrometers are used to monitor the concentration of nickel and cobalt in solutions in real time. pH/ORP sensors can automatically adjust the dosage of reagents in the neutralization process, ensuring the stability of the cobalt - nickel - lithium processing process. In addition, some projects also build a digital twin platform to link 3D factory models with real - time data to support fault prediction and maintenance decisions.

Product presentation:

Shaanxi Chengda Industrial furnace Manufacturing company is firmly optimistic about the development prospects of new energy lithium industry. After more than 20 years of development, the company has formed an integrated development pattern from nickel cobalt lithium resource development, green smelting and processing, ternary precursor and cathode material manufacturing to resource recycling and recycling of new energy lithium battery materials, with industry-leading comprehensive competitiveness. The company always adheres to the development of the new energy lithium battery material industry as the core, adheres to the overall development of the three-in-one road of "resource control, capacity enhancement, and market expansion", adheres to the competitive strategy of "product leadership, cost leadership", continues to deepen the global layout of industrial integration, comprehensively improves the comprehensive competitive advantage of industrial integration, and strives to build a new quality productivity pattern of industrial integration. Strive to become a leader in the new energy lithium battery material industry.

Shaanxi Chengda Industrial Furnace Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a professional supplier of waste lithium electricity and wet slag recovery electric furnace.

Background introduction :

With the popularity of electronic products, lithium batteries are also more and more widely used. However, with the gradual shortening of service life, the disposal of waste lithium batteries is becoming increasingly prominent. Improper disposal of waste lithium batteries will not only cause pollution to the environment, but also waste a lot of resources. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out research on the recycling technology of waste lithium batteries.

Process description:
Raw materials such as battery disassembly material and wet slag are added to the disposal furnace and melted by electric heating. After a certain time, the liquid alloy flows into the alloy package through the chute from the iron outlet, and the alloy package moves to the refining position and begins refining. The slag from the slag mouth of the electric furnace is buffered by the chute and flows directly into the depleted electric furnace in the downstream process for secondary extraction.

Device structure form:
1) Use a semi-closed fixed furnace with a low smoke hood for the disposal of the electric furnace
Type;
2) The use of all water-cooled bellows pressure ring, so that the copper tile force uniform, balanced and uniform conduction;
3) The use of new water-cooled cable technology and forged copper shingles, water-cooled cable and copper pipe connection selection of button-type connection, which can reduce the contact resistance;
4) The new short network structure of one to one between the transformer outlet and the copper tile makes the equipment more advanced and the operation rate is high;
5) The short-net design uses the three-phase electrode triangle connection method, which has good short-net compensation, low impedance, low three-phase unbalance coefficient, high power factor and significant power-saving effect;
6) Full hydraulic lock, PLC control, to achieve voltage discharge, improve the operation rate of the electrode system;
7) The use of non-magnetic steel near the large current carrying conductor can greatly reduce the power loss