WO2025013987A1 - Apparatus for producing copper foil material for negative electrode material - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing copper foil material for negative electrode material. The copper foil for negative electrode material of a secondary battery is produced using common low purity copper, not the high purity millberry, and allowing the flow of coolant in a cooling tank to overflow upward minimizes the amount of coolant used while facilitating cooling to improve productivity and allow copper foil material of uniform quality to be produced.

Description

Cathode copper foil material manufacturing device

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a copper foil for an anode material of a secondary battery, which manufactures copper foil using low-purity general copper rather than high-purity wheatberry, and which improves productivity by minimizing the amount of cooling water required while allowing smooth cooling by applying the flow of cooling water in an upward overflow manner within a cooling tank, and enables the manufacture of a copper foil material of uniform quality.

Recently, as environmental regulations are strengthened and demand for electric vehicles increases, the importance of copper foil is increasing.

Copper foil, also known as battery foil, is considered a key material for secondary batteries used in electric vehicles. Copper foil for secondary batteries is considered a key component of electric vehicle batteries because it serves as a support that releases heat generated from the battery to the outside and maintains the shape of the electrode. In particular, copper foil is used as a thin film for cathode materials, one of the four key materials (positive electrode material, negative electrode material, separator, and electrolyte) of electric batteries.

Here, in order to increase the capacity of the secondary battery, the energy density per unit area must be increased, and to achieve this, the copper foil thickness must be made thinner to increase the area per unit volume and reduce the weight.

These copper foils are largely manufactured using the roll rolling method and the electrolytic method. However, the roll rolling method has the disadvantage of increasing production costs as the thickness decreases, so the electrolytic method, which is a method of plating copper through electrolysis, is generally used as the main material to manufacture copper foil for secondary batteries.

At this time, copper foil for secondary batteries using an electrolytic method can be manufactured by generally procuring high-grade copper scrap of electrolytic copper or Millberry grade, manufacturing it into a wire rod through a casting method, a method combining casting and rolling, or a method combining casting, rolling, and drawing, and then washing and cutting the manufactured wire rod and dissolving it in a sulfuric acid solution, which is an electrolyte.

However, the cut wire rod is manufactured through a rolling, drawing, and cutting process, and is exposed to oil components such as rolling oil and drawing oil during rolling and drawing, so a washing process for degreasing is essential, and since the process is complicated, the cost of the copper foil increases, and there is a problem that the supply of raw materials such as electrolytic copper or millberry-grade high-grade copper scrap is not smooth.

As a technology to solve these problems, "Amorphous copper material for electrolytic copper foil and its manufacturing method" (Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2521234, Patent Document 1) discloses a technology for manufacturing an amorphous copper material for electrolytic copper foil having an average crystal grain size of 50 to 300 ㎛ and a bulk density of 1.0 to 3.0 g/cm3 by melting copper raw material and then dropping it onto a collision plate provided on a water tank to disperse it into fine particles and precipitating it into water.

In patent document 1, it was determined that when the crystal grain size is less than 50㎛, surface passivation can be accelerated due to high grain boundary density, and thus the water in the tank was used to solidify molten copper that had already been dispersed in the form of fine particles by the collision plate.

This is thought to be related to the fact that bringing molten copper into contact with low-temperature water causes the crystal grain size to decrease.

That is, control of the bulk density appears to have been achieved through the collision plate, and the average grain size appears to have been controlled by the water temperature within the tank, which is not low.

However, in the case of large-scale continuous production, the residue of molten copper that has collided with the collision plate remains, which causes changes in the shape and arrangement of the collision plate, which inevitably causes changes in the bulk density.

In addition, there is also a problem that the crystal grain size continues to change because the temperature of the water in the tank continues to change when the copper material is manufactured, resulting in a decrease in quality uniformity.

In addition, when molten copper foil comes into contact with water, a large amount of steam is generated, causing a steam explosion phenomenon, at which time pores are generated and the alloy solidifies into a shape with many horns, increasing the surface area and solidifying. However, the higher the water temperature, the less this phenomenon occurs, so not only does the bulk density change, but there is also the problem of the bulk density increasing.

*Prior art literature*

(Patent Document 1) KR 10-2521234 (2023.04.10)

The present invention relates to a device for manufacturing a copper foil material for a cathode material, which is intended to resolve the problems occurring in the above-mentioned conventional technology, and to enable the manufacture of a copper foil material using low-purity general copper instead of high-purity millberry, and to enable a molten body to be radially discharged from a discharge port by the rotation of a tundish, and to manufacture a copper foil material by cooling the discharged molten body through contact with continuously supplied cooling water, thereby enabling the manufacture of a copper foil material with uniform quality due to a smaller variation in bulk density and crystal grain size compared to the collision plate collision method.

This is made possible by filling the cooling tank at the bottom of the tundish with cooling water from the bottom so that the water level reaches the top of the cooling tank, and by spraying high-pressure cooling water obliquely toward the upper part of the opposite wall around the inside of the cooling tank so that the cooling water heated by contact with the molten body overflows to the upper part of the cooling tank wall, thereby maintaining the cooling performance at a constant level.

The aim is to control the crystal grain size and bulk density by setting the temperature of the cooling water supplied in this manner to a specific temperature.

In addition, the purpose is to supply liquid oxygen by vaporizing it using a vaporizer for combustion of fuel to prevent the molten substance in the tundish from solidifying, and to achieve cooling of the cooling water without requiring separate fuel or electricity by heat-exchanging the cooling water overflowing the cooling tank with the vaporizer, thereby making it easy to reduce the production cost.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the device for manufacturing a copper foil material for a cathode material of the present invention comprises: a tundish (10) having a cavity (11) formed inside with an open top so that a molten body of refined copper can be temporarily accommodated therein, and a discharge port (12) formed on a side wall surface so that the molten body temporarily accommodated in the cavity (11) can be discharged; a rotary driving device (20) connected to the lower portion of the tundish (10) and causing the tundish (10) to rotate horizontally so that the molten body discharged through the discharge port (12) is discharged radially around the tundish (10); A cylindrical upper case (31) located at the bottom of the tundish (10), having an open upper portion and an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tundish (10), and having an upper cooling space (31a) formed inside to receive the molten body radially discharged from the discharge port (12), a lower case (32) having a conical shape with a lower diameter gradually decreasing as it goes downward while connected to the lower portion of the upper case (31) to guide the drop of the molten body falling from the receiving space (21), and having a discharge port (32b) formed at the lower center through which the molten body is discharged, and a first cooling water supply pipe (33a) installed at a certain interval along the lower circumference of the upper case (31) to receive cooling water from the outside and spray the cooling water into the upper cooling space (31a), but having a first cooling water supply pipe (33a) installed at the upper side of the upper case (31) opposite the installation location An internal cooling tank (30) comprising a plurality of cooling water injection nozzles (33) which are installed so as to be inclined upward toward the wall so as to rapidly cool the melt discharged from the discharge port (12) and falling by bringing the melt into contact with the cooling water, and inducing an upward flow of the cooling water inside the upper cooling space (31a) so that the cooling water heated by contacting the melt is discharged over the upper wall surface of the upper case (31); an external cooling tank (40) which has an inner circumference spaced apart from the internal cooling tank (30) to form an external cooling space (41) between the internal cooling tank (30) and a second cooling water supply pipe (42) through which cooling water is supplied is connected to one side thereof so as to induce a downward cooling water flow inside the external cooling space (41) and an upward cooling water flow inside the lower cooling space (32a) due to the upper and lower temperature difference together with the cooling water sprayed from the injection nozzle (33); It is configured to include a transport conveyor (50) that is positioned at the bottom of the discharge port (32b) on one side and extends upwardly from one side and protrudes outside the external cooling tank (40) to transport the copper foil material manufactured by cooling in the internal cooling tank (30).

In the above-described configuration, the coolant spray nozzle (33) is configured to face the opposite wall surface of the upper case (31) on a plane, but to form a direction that deviates from the center of the upper case (31), and the coolant spray nozzles (33) adjacent to each other are configured to deviate in the same direction, so that the coolant sprayed from the coolant spray nozzle (33) induces a spiral fluid flow based on the center of the upper case (31).

In the above configuration, it is characterized in that the spiral fluid flow is formed in the same direction as the rotational direction of the tundish (10).

In the above configuration, the height of the upper wall surface of the external cooling tank (40) is configured to be the same as the height of the upper wall surface of the upper case (31) of the internal cooling tank (30), so that the cooling water that has cooled the molten body by the spray of the cooling water injection nozzle (33) passes over the upper wall surface of the upper case (31) and is then discharged continuously over the upper wall surface of the external cooling tank (40), thereby suppressing overheating of the cooling water inside the external cooling space (41).

In the above configuration, in order to prevent the molten body inside the cavity (11) of the tundish (10) from solidifying, a heating device (60) that applies a flame to the cavity (11) by supplying fuel and oxygen is further provided, and a liquid oxygen tank (70) in which the oxygen supplied to the heating device (60) is stored in a liquid state; a vaporizer (80) that is connected to the oxygen liquefied oxygen tank (70) and the heating device (60) through a pipe and vaporizes the liquid oxygen; and a heat exchange tank (90) in which the vaporizer (80) is installed inside and the cooling water discharged from the external cooling tank (40) is stored inside so that the liquid oxygen passing through the vaporizer (80) and the cooling water are heat-exchanged, and the cooling water injection nozzle (33) and the cooling water supply pipe (42) are connected thereto.

According to the present invention, a copper foil material can be manufactured using low-purity general copper instead of high-purity wheat flour, and a molten body is discharged radially from a discharge port by rotation of a tundish, and the discharged molten body is cooled through contact with continuously supplied cooling water to manufacture a copper foil material, so that a copper foil material having uniform quality can be manufactured with a smaller range of changes in bulk density and grain size compared to a collision plate collision method.

This is made possible by filling the cooling tank at the bottom of the tundish with cooling water from the bottom so that the water level reaches the top of the cooling tank, and by spraying high-pressure cooling water obliquely toward the upper part of the opposite wall around the inside of the cooling tank so that the cooling water heated by contact with the molten body overflows to the upper part of the cooling tank wall, thereby maintaining the cooling performance at a constant level.

By setting the temperature of the cooling water supplied in this manner to a specific temperature, the size of the crystal grains can be controlled and the bulk density can be controlled.

In addition, liquid oxygen is supplied by vaporizing it using a vaporizer to combust fuel to prevent the molten substance in the tundish from solidifying, and by heat-exchanging the cooling water overflowing the cooling tank with the vaporizer, cooling of the cooling water is achieved without requiring separate fuel or electricity, thereby easily reducing the production cost.

Figure 1 is a partially cut perspective view showing an example of a device for manufacturing a copper foil material for a cathode material of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an example of supplying cooling water using a heat exchange tank in the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a partial cut perspective view of the configuration of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the coolant injection nozzle and the spray direction of the coolant in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially cut perspective view showing an example of a method for controlling the temperature of cooling water using a heat exchange tank and a temporary storage tank in the present invention.

Figure 7 is a photograph showing an example of a copper foil material for a cathode material manufactured by the manufacturing device of the present invention.

Figures 8 and 9 are test results and some excerpts thereof received from the Korea Testing & Research Institute for Chemical Industry for analysis of the crystal grain size of the copper foil material for cathode material manufactured according to the present invention.

*Detailed explanation of the main symbols in the drawing*

10: tundish, 11: cavity

12: outlet, 20: rotary drive device

21: fixing member, 22: first rotation axis

23: Power transmission device, 24: Second rotation shaft

25: Drive motor, 30: Internal cooling tank

31: upper case, 31a: upper cooling space

32: lower case, 32a: lower cooling space

32b: exhaust port, 33: coolant injection nozzle

33a: 1st cooling water supply pipe, 33b: 1st supply pump

33c: Circular pipe, 33d: 1st control valve

40: External cooling tank, 41: External cooling space

42: Second cooling water supply pipe, 42a: Second control valve

42b: Second supply pump, 43: Cooling water discharge pipe

43a: 3rd control valve, 44: protrusion

50: conveyor belt, 60: heating device

70: Liquid oxygen tank, 80: Vaporizer

90: Heat exchange tank, 91: Temporary storage tank

92: Coolant recovery pipe, 92a: First cooling water recovery pipe

92b: 2nd cooling water recovery pipe, 93: 1st supplementary pipe

94: Second supplementary pipe, 95: Control valve

96 : Temperature sensor

Hereinafter, a device for manufacturing a copper foil material for a cathode material of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

The device for manufacturing a copper foil material for a cathode material of the present invention comprises a tundish (10), a rotary driving device (20), an internal cooling tank (30), an external cooling tank (40), and a transfer conveyor (50) as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and may further include a heating device (60), a liquid oxygen tank (70), a vaporizer (80), and a heat exchange tank (90) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The tundish (10), which is a component of the present invention, has a cavity (11) formed inside with an open top so that a molten body of refined copper can be temporarily accommodated inside, and a discharge port (12) formed on the side wall so that the molten body temporarily accommodated in the cavity (11) can be discharged.

The discharge ports (12) are formed at regular intervals radially, two or more times, based on the center of the tundish (10).

A spout in the shape of a tube can be fitted into the outlet (12) and installed in a replaceable manner.

The rotary driving device (20), which is a component of the present invention, is connected to the lower portion of the tundish (10) and rotates the tundish (10) horizontally so that the molten material discharged through the discharge port (12) is discharged radially around the tundish (10).

The rotary drive device (20) illustrated in FIG. 1 is composed of a mounting member (21) installed below the tundish (10) and on which the tundish (10) is mounted, a first rotational shaft (22) extending vertically below the mounting member (21) and configured to rotate vertically, a power transmission device (23) positioned below the first rotational shaft (22) and converting horizontal rotational force into vertical rotational force, a second rotational shaft (24) extending horizontally and connected at one end to the power transmission device (23) and configured to rotate horizontally, and a drive motor (25) connected to the second rotational shaft (24) and configured to rotate the second rotational shaft (24).

Here, the power transmission device (23) may be composed of a pair of bevel gears that rotate in mesh with each other.

This rotary drive device (20) is not limited by the drawing and various known rotary drive devices can be applied as long as it is for horizontally rotating the tundish (10).

The internal cooling tank (30), which is a component of the present invention, is manufactured from a copper foil material by allowing the molten material discharged from the tundish (10) to fall and cool by contact with cooling water.

In the present invention, the internal cooling tank (30) is characterized by inducing an upward flow of cooling water inside the upper cooling space (31a) so that the cooling water heated by contact with the molten body is discharged over the upper wall surface of the upper case (31).

The internal cooling tank (30) for this purpose consists of an upper case (31), a lower case (32), and a cooling water injection nozzle (33).

The upper case (31) has a cylindrical shape, and its outer surface is connected to an external cooling tank (40) through a connecting member.

This internal cooling tank (30) has an open top so that the molten substance can flow into the top, and as shown in the drawing, it has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tundish (10) and an upper cooling space (31a) is formed inside to receive the molten substance discharged radially from the discharge port (12).

The lower case (32) is integrally connected to the lower part of the upper case (31) and has a conical shape with an inner diameter that gradually decreases as it goes downward, forming a lower cooling space (32a) that guides the fall of the molten body falling from the receiving space (21).

In the lower center of the lower case (32), a discharge port (32b) is formed through which the molten body (copper foil material) that has solidified upon contact with the cooling water is discharged.

As shown in the drawing, a number of cooling water injection nozzles (33) are installed at regular intervals along the lower circumference of the upper case (31) and are configured to receive cooling water from the outside and spray cooling water into the upper cooling space (31a).

These coolant injection nozzles (33) can be connected to a single circular pipe (33c) that is disposed around the upper case (31), and a first coolant supply pipe (33a) that supplies coolant to this circular pipe (33c) can be provided.

In the drawing, the circular pipe (33c) is formed in the form of a square cross-section, and a cooling water injection nozzle (33) is depicted as having a part accommodated inside the square cross-section, but it should be noted that this is not limited to the drawing.

A first regulating valve (33d) that can control whether or not to supply cooling water and a first supply pump (33b) for supplying cooling water can be installed in a first cooling water supply pipe (33a) for supplying cooling water through a circular pipe (33c).

These cooling water injection nozzles (33) are each installed with an upward slope toward the upper wall of the upper case (31) opposite the installation location, so that the molten body discharged from the discharge port (12) and falling contact with the cooling water to rapidly cool the molten body.

The cooling water inside the internal cooling tank (30) is filled by allowing it to rise from the inside through the discharge port (32b), and the temperature of the upper part of the lower cooling space (32a) becomes higher than that of the lower part due to heat exchange with the molten body.

Accordingly, the cooling water temperature in the upper part of the upper cooling space (31a) becomes considerably higher than that on the discharge port (32b) side, so the cooling efficiency may be relatively reduced, and it becomes difficult to maintain the properties of the copper foil material manufactured at a constant level due to the temperature difference between the upper and lower parts.

However, since the coolant injection nozzle (33) is installed at an upward angle while positioned at the bottom of the upper case (31), it is possible to supply coolant at a temperature much lower than that of the coolant flowing up from the discharge port (32b), thereby lowering the coolant temperature in the upper cooling space (31a) and increasing the instantaneous cooling efficiency, and the crystal grain size can be reduced through contact with coolant at a low temperature.

More preferably, the crystal grain size can be controlled by adjusting the temperature of the cooling water sprayed from the cooling water injection nozzle (33) according to the request of the company that supplies the copper foil material, and the degree of pore development and the degree of development of sharp protrusions in the copper foil material can be controlled by controlling the rapid activity and degree of steam generated when the cooling water and the molten body come into instantaneous contact.

At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the coolant spray nozzle (33) is configured to face the opposite wall surface of the upper case (31) on a plane, but to form a direction that deviates from the center of the upper case (31), and the coolant spray nozzles (33) adjacent to each other are configured to deviate in the same clockwise or counterclockwise direction, so that the coolant sprayed from the coolant spray nozzle (33) induces a spiral fluid flow based on the center of the upper case (31).

This prevents the high-pressure coolants sprayed from each coolant injection nozzle (33) from colliding with each other and not reaching the upper surface of the upper case (31) at high pressure, and allows them to reach the upper area as desired. In addition, it allows them to rotate in a certain direction on a plane at the upper surface of the upper case (31) so that the cooling efficiency can be maintained evenly.

In addition, it is desirable that the spiral fluid flow be in the same direction as the rotational direction of the tundish (10) so that the cooling efficiency can be more constant.

The external cooling tank (40), which is a component of the present invention, has an inner surface spaced apart from the internal cooling tank (30) to form an external cooling space (41) between it and the internal cooling tank (30), and a second cooling water supply pipe (42) for supplying cooling water is connected to one side.

By the temperature difference between the upper and lower cooling water, together with the cooling water sprayed from the above cooling water injection nozzle (33), a downward cooling water flow can be induced within the external cooling space (41), and an upward cooling water flow can be induced within the lower cooling space (32a).

In addition, a second control valve (42a) for controlling whether to supply cooling water and a second supply pump (42b) for supplying cooling water may be installed in the second cooling water supply pipe (42).

At this time, the second cooling water supply pipe (42) may be configured to supply cooling water at the same temperature as the cooling water inside the cooling water injection nozzle (33), or may be configured to supply cooling water at different temperatures.

In addition, even if supplied from the same water source, it is possible to supply water at different temperatures by adding a temperature control device or using a heat exchanger, etc.

In addition, the external cooling tank (40) may have an inclined protrusion (44) formed on the other side so that the upper part of a transport conveyor (50) inclined upward on one side can be accommodated.

In addition, a cooling water discharge pipe (43) can be connected to the lower part of the external cooling tank (40) to forcibly discharge the cooling water.

A third control valve (43a) can be installed in this coolant discharge pipe (43) to control whether or not to discharge the coolant.

Alternatively, the external discharge of the cooling water inside the external cooling tank (40) may also be discharged beyond the upper wall surface of the external cooling tank (40), similar to the internal cooling tank (30).

In this case, the height of the upper wall surface of the external cooling tank (40) is made the same as the height of the upper wall surface of the upper case (31) of the internal cooling tank (30), so that the cooling water that has cooled the molten body by the spray of the cooling water injection nozzle (33) passes over the upper wall surface of the upper case (31) and is then discharged continuously over the upper wall surface of the external cooling tank (40), thereby further suppressing overheating of the cooling water inside the external cooling space (41).

The transport conveyor (50), which is a component of the present invention, is configured such that one side is positioned below the discharge port (32b), and the other side extends upwardly from one side and protrudes outside the external cooling tank (40) to transport the copper foil material manufactured by cooling in the internal cooling tank (30).

Meanwhile, in order to prevent the molten material inside the cavity (11) of the tundish (10) from solidifying, a heating device (60) that applies a flame to the cavity (11) is provided.

The heating device uses raw materials such as LPG, LNG, and petroleum as fuel and generates a flame under the supply of oxygen.

At this time, in order to maximize the efficiency of oxygen supply, a liquid oxygen tank (70) in which oxygen supplied to the heating device (60) is stored in a liquid state, and a vaporizer (80) connected to the acid liquid oxygen tank (70) and the heating device (60) through pipes and vaporizing the liquid oxygen may be provided.

Here, the above-mentioned liquid oxygen tank (70) can be used not only for the heating device (60), but also for supplying oxygen within the furnace for producing a molten body.

Meanwhile, since the cooling water in the internal cooling tank (30) and external cooling tank (40) cools the high temperature molten body exceeding 1,000℃, the temperature rises very easily. Therefore, a cooling device is required because low temperature cooling water must be continuously replenished and heated cooling water must be recovered. The operation of this cooling device requires considerable power.

Accordingly, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, a heat exchange tank (90) may be provided in which cooling water overflowing from the upper wall of the external cooling tank (40) flows into the outside of the external cooling tank (40), and a cooling water discharge pipe (43) is connected to the temporary storage tank (91) in which the cooling water discharged from the external cooling tank (40) is temporarily stored, and the vaporizer (80) is installed inside the temporary storage tank (91) and connected to the temporary storage tank (91) through a pipe so that the cooling water inside the temporary storage tank (91) is stored inside, thereby allowing heat exchange between liquid oxygen passing through the vaporizer (80) and the cooling water.

This heat exchange tank (90) is connected to the cooling water injection nozzle (33) and the second cooling water supply pipe (42), so that cooling water that has exchanged heat with the carburetor (90) is supplied to the cooling water injection nozzle (33) and the second cooling water supply pipe (42), thereby supplying low-temperature cooling water that has been quickly cooled into the internal cooling tank (30) and the external cooling tank (40).

This allows for rapid cooling and supply of coolant without the need for a separate cooling device that consumes power to cool the coolant, thereby reducing the production cost for manufacturing copper foil materials.

Meanwhile, the pipe for supplying the cooled cooling water in the heat exchange tank (90) to the first cooling water supply pipe (33a) and the second cooling water supply pipe (42) may be composed of one cooling water recovery pipe (92) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

However, in this case, it is difficult to manufacture copper foil material of uniform quality because the temperature inside the heat exchange tank (90) cannot be maintained at a constant level.

In addition, there is a problem that it is difficult to change the manufacturing conditions because cooling water of the same temperature can only be supplied inside the internal cooling tank (30) and the external cooling tank (40).

In order to solve this problem, as shown in Fig. 6, the cooling water recovery pipe (92) is composed of two cooling water recovery pipes, a first cooling water recovery pipe (92a) and a second cooling water recovery pipe (92b), and the first cooling water recovery pipe (92a) is connected to the first cooling water supply pipe (33a), and the second cooling water recovery pipe (92b) is connected to the second cooling water supply pipe (42). In addition, the temporary storage tank (91) is provided with a first supplementary pipe (93) and a second supplementary pipe (94) connected to the first cooling water recovery pipe (92a) and the second cooling water recovery pipe (92b), respectively, and each of the points before the point where the first cooling water recovery pipe (92a) and the first supplementary pipe (93) are connected and the point where the second cooling water recovery pipe (92b) and the second supplementary pipe (94) are connected. A control valve (95) can be installed in the pipe.

In addition, a temperature sensor (96) for measuring the temperature of the internal cooling water can be installed in the first cooling water supply pipe (33a) and the second cooling water supply pipe (42).

In addition, by electrically connecting the temperature sensor (96) and the control valves (95) to the unillustrated control device and controlling the opening and closing of each control valve (95) according to the temperature value measured by the temperature sensor (96), the temperature of each of the cooling water supplied to the internal cooling tank (30) and the external cooling tank (40) can be controlled by mixing the cooling water in which heat exchange has occurred in the heat exchange tank (90) and the cooling water temporarily stored in the temporary storage tank.

This configuration not only enables continuous production while minimizing power consumption for cooling, but also controls the temperature of cooling water supplied to the internal cooling tank (30) and external cooling tank (40), thereby controlling key properties of the copper foil material for cathode material, such as bulk density and grain size, and providing it to customers.

Hereinafter, a process for manufacturing a copper foil material for a cathode according to the present invention will be described.

1. Discharge stage

The molten copper is supplied into the cavity (11) of the above tundish (10), and the rotary drive device (20) is operated to rotate the tundish (10).

When the tundish (10) rotates, the molten material is discharged radially through the discharge port (12) on the side wall.

2. Cooling stage

Meanwhile, the internal cooling tank (30) and external cooling tank (40) are prepared with cooling water filled to the top of both tanks, and the discharged molten body is brought into contact with the cooling water to cool and solidify the molten body.

At this time, simultaneously with the operation of the rotary drive device (20), high-pressure supply of cooling water through the cooling water injection nozzle (33) is initiated to induce an upwardly inclined cooling water flow inside the internal cooling tank (30), and the cooling water, whose temperature has increased by contact with the molten body, is discharged over the upper wall surface of the internal cooling tank (30), and the cooling water is continuously supplied from the lower portion of the internal cooling tank (30).

Cooling water supply from the bottom of the internal cooling tank (30) is achieved by supplying cooling water to the inside of the external cooling tank (40) through the second cooling water supply pipe (42) described above.

3. Transfer stage

In addition to supplying cooling water to the rotary drive device (20) and the cooling water injection nozzle (33), the transfer conveyor (50) is operated to transport the copper foil material that solidifies along the inside of the internal cooling tank (30) and falls through the discharge port (32b) through the transfer conveyor (50) to the subsequent process.

Meanwhile, while the above-described discharge step is in progress, the heating device (60) is operated to prevent the melt from solidifying. As described above, when liquid oxygen is vaporized and supplied to the heating device (60), the vaporizer (80) is installed inside the heat exchange tank (90) where the discharged cooling water is stored, and the cooling water is heat-exchanged with the liquid oxygen in the vaporizer (80) and then supplied to the first cooling water supply pipe (33a) and the second cooling water supply pipe (42).

In addition, in the case of an embodiment such as FIG. 6, by controlling the opening and closing of each control valve (95) through a control device according to the temperature value detected by the temperature sensor (96) as described above, the cooling water temperature inside the first cooling water supply pipe (33a) and the second cooling water supply pipe (42) can be individually controlled, thereby enabling the manufacture of a copper foil material having desired properties.

FIG. 7 illustrates a copper foil material for a cathode material manufactured by the above manufacturing method, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are test results regarding the crystal grain size of the copper foil material manufactured by the present invention.

As can be seen in Figure 7, it can be confirmed that the product is manufactured by transforming into a shape like popcorn with sharp protrusions without a collision plate through instantaneous contact with low-temperature coolant.

As can be seen from the test results, it is possible to manufacture copper foil material with very small grain size.

In addition, the weight was measured by filling the manufactured copper material inside a cubic body measuring 10 cm in width, length, and height, and it was found that it was possible to manufacture it by inducing a specific weight within the range of 0.5 to 7 kg depending on the temperature control of the cooling water supplied in two parts.

Claims (5)

In a device for manufacturing copper foil materials for cathode materials, A tundish (10) having a cavity (11) formed inside with an open top so that a molten body made of refined copper can be temporarily accommodated inside, and a discharge port (12) formed on a side wall so that the molten body temporarily accommodated in the cavity (11) can be discharged; A rotary driving device (20) connected to the lower portion of the tundish (10) and causing the tundish (10) to rotate horizontally so that the molten material discharged through the discharge port (12) is discharged radially around the tundish (10); A cylindrical upper case (31) located at the bottom of the above tundish (10), having an open upper portion and an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the above tundish (10), and having an upper cooling space (31a) formed inside to receive the molten body radially discharged from the discharge port (12), a lower case (32) having a conical shape with a lower diameter gradually decreasing as it goes downward while connected to the lower portion of the above upper case (31) to guide the drop of the molten body falling from the receiving space (21), and having a discharge port (32b) formed at the lower center through which the molten body is discharged, and a first cooling water supply pipe (33a) installed at a certain interval along the lower circumference of the above upper case (31) to receive cooling water from the outside and spray the cooling water into the upper cooling space (31a), but located on the upper side of the upper case (31) opposite the installation location An internal cooling tank (30) comprising a plurality of cooling water injection nozzles (33) installed so as to be inclined upward toward the wall so as to rapidly cool the molten body discharged from the discharge port (12) and falling by contacting the cooling water, and inducing an upward flow of the cooling water inside the upper cooling space (31a) so that the cooling water heated by contacting the molten body is discharged over the upper wall surface of the upper case (31); An external cooling tank (40) having an inner periphery separated from the internal cooling tank (30) to form an external cooling space (41) between the inner periphery and the internal cooling tank (30), and having a second cooling water supply pipe (42) connected to one side to supply cooling water, and inducing a downward cooling water flow within the external cooling space (41) and an upward cooling water flow within the lower cooling space (32a) by the upper and lower temperature difference together with the cooling water sprayed from the spray nozzle (33); It is composed of a transport conveyor (50) that is positioned at the bottom of the discharge port (32b) on one side and extends upwardly from one side and protrudes outside the external cooling tank (40) to transport the copper foil material manufactured by cooling in the internal cooling tank (30). A device for manufacturing copper foil materials for cathode materials. In paragraph 1, The above cooling water injection nozzle (33) is configured to face the opposite wall surface of the upper case (31) on a plane, but to form a direction that deviates from the center of the upper case (31). The cooling water injection nozzles (33) adjacent to each other are configured to deviate in the same direction, so that the cooling water injected from the cooling water injection nozzles (33) induces a spiral fluid flow with the upper case (31) as the center. A device for manufacturing copper foil materials for cathode materials. In the second paragraph, The above spiral fluid flow is characterized in that it is formed in the same direction as the rotation direction of the tundish (10). A device for manufacturing copper foil materials for cathode materials. In paragraph 1, The upper wall height of the external cooling tank (40) is made the same as the upper wall height of the upper case (31) of the internal cooling tank (30). It is characterized in that the cooling water, which has cooled the melt by the injection of the cooling water injection nozzle (33), passes over the upper wall of the upper case (31) and is discharged continuously over the upper wall of the external cooling tank (40), thereby suppressing overheating of the cooling water inside the external cooling space (41). A device for manufacturing copper foil materials for cathode materials. In paragraph 1, In order to prevent the molten material inside the cavity (11) of the above tundish (10) from solidifying, a heating device (60) that applies a flame to the cavity (11) by supplying fuel and oxygen is additionally provided. A liquefied oxygen tank (70) in which oxygen supplied to the above heating device (60) is stored in a liquid state; A vaporizer (80) that is connected to a liquefied oxygen tank (70) and a heating device (60) through pipes and vaporizes liquid oxygen; The vaporizer (80) is installed inside, and the cooling water discharged from the external cooling tank (40) is stored inside, so that the liquid oxygen passing through the vaporizer (80) and the cooling water are heat-exchanged, and a heat exchange tank (90) to which the cooling water injection nozzle (33) and the cooling water supply pipe (42) are connected is further provided. A device for manufacturing copper foil materials for cathode materials.

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