Fluidized bed reactor and method for recovering active metal of lithium secondary battery using same
In a method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery according to an embodiment, a waste cathode active material mixture is prepared from a waste cathode of a lithium secondary battery. A preliminary precursor mixture is formed by reacting the waste cathode active material mixture with a reactive gas in a fluidized bed reactor. The preliminary precursor mixture is cooled by spraying different first and second refrigerants to the preliminary precursor mixture. A lithium precursor is recovered from the cooled preliminary precursor mixture.
1 . A method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery, the method comprising:
preparing a waste cathode active material mixture from a waste cathode of a lithium secondary battery;
forming a preliminary precursor mixture by reacting the waste cathode active material mixture with a reactive gas in a fluidized bed reactor;
cooling the preliminary precursor mixture by spraying different first refrigerant and second refrigerant to the preliminary precursor mixture in the fluidized bed reactor, wherein the first and second refrigerants have different phases; and
selectively recovering a lithium precursor from the cooled preliminary precursor mixture.
2 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the first refrigerant is a gas, and the second refrigerant is a liquid.
3 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the first refrigerant comprises nitrogen or argon.
4 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the second refrigerant comprises water.
5 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein an injection rate ratio of the first refrigerant relative to the second refrigerant is from 0.1 to 10.
6 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the cooling the preliminary precursor mixture reduces a temperature of the preliminary precursor mixture to 100° C. or less.
7 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 1 , wherein the fluidized bed reactor comprises:
a reactor body; and
a dispersion plate coupled to a bottom portion of the reactor body, the dispersion plate comprising a base plate; and
an injection column and an auxiliary column protruding from a top surface of the base plate,
wherein the cooling of the preliminary precursor mixture comprises injecting the first refrigerant through the injection column and injecting the second refrigerant through the auxiliary column.
8 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 7 , wherein, in addition to injecting the first refrigerant through the injection column and the second refrigerant through the auxiliary column, the auxiliary column is configured to co-inject the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant into the reactor body.
9 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 7 , wherein the forming the preliminary precursor mixture comprises supplying the reactive gas including a reductive gas through the injection column.
10 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 7 , wherein the fluidized bed reactor further comprises a first flow path and a second flow path for supplying the first refrigerant and the second refrigerant, respectively, from a lower portion of the fluidized bed reactor.
11 . The method for recovering an active metal of a lithium secondary battery of claim 10 , wherein the first flow path is connected to the injection column, and the second flow path is connected to the auxiliary column.