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This application note discusses the manufacturing process of lithium-ion battery anode and cathode materials, which involves critical steps where flammable components are present.
In the manufacturing of cathode electrode layers, the slurry that is mixed contains combustible components. Potential explosion hazards must be eliminated by preventing excessive oxygen levels, which is achieved by maintaining an inert atmosphere during the mixing and charging of the electrode slurry.
To prevent explosion risks during the mixing process, nitrogen is used as an inert gas to evacuate air from the vessel. For safe operation, an oxygen level of less than 12% is required. This can be achieved through repeated alternating cycles of vacuuming and nitrogen charging or through continuous nitrogen purging of the vessel. However, these methods do not guarantee an explosion-safe regime, and large amounts of costly nitrogen may be used.
To ensure safety and cost-effectiveness in cathode slurry mixing vessel inerting, METTLER TOLEDO offers the GPro™ 500, a tunable diode laser (TDL) oxygen spectrometer that accurately measures oxygen concentrations from ppm to 100%. The GPro 500 can be configured to fit the installation needs of the application and uses TDL spectrometry to measure oxygen in situ through probe or wafer installation, from large line sizes down to 2.
One of the challenges of measuring oxygen levels during the electrode slurry mixing process is the presence of carbon dust and condensing vapors in the vessel, which can affect the performance of the oxygen analyzer. To address this issue, the GPro 500 can be equipped with a hydrophobic filter to protect the analyzer's optical path from dust and vapors, ensuring long-term measurement performance.
The analyzer's rapid response time provides instant notification of excessive oxygen during cathode slurry mixing vessel inerting, allowing for immediate action to prevent explosions.
.png/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1280.1280.png "在线pH探头/ORP（氧化还原）探头")
.png/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1280.1280.png "变送器")