5t/h lithium battery industry aluminum electrolyte impurity removal and lithium extraction MVR evaporation system

I.Project Background

In the process of lithium battery recycling and cathode material production, a complex and highly corrosive lithium-containing waste electrolyte is generated. This electrolyte contains highly valuable lithium, but also contains impurities such as aluminum and iron, as well as fluorides. Traditional treatment methods result in low recovery rates, high costs, and are prone to secondary pollution. Faced with this common industry challenge, a leading battery recycling customer of Conqinphi urgently needed a dedicated system capable of efficiently and stably removing impurities from aluminum electrolyte and enriching and recovering lithium resources.

II.Solution

Addressing the three core challenges of aluminum electrolyte materials—high corrosivity, easy crystallization, and impurity content—Conqinphi innovatively developed this MVR evaporation system with a processing capacity of 5 tons/hour specifically for aluminum electrolyte impurity removal and lithium extraction. This system is not a simple evaporation and concentration system, but a customized solution integrating pretreatment impurity removal, corrosion-resistant design, and MVR evaporation enrichment, successfully achieving the economical and environmentally friendly extraction of high-value lithium resources from complex hazardous waste.

III.Core System Advantages

1.Proprietary Pretreatment and Impurity Removal Process for Stable Subsequent Operation

The system integrates a proprietary chemical purification and impurity removal module at the front end. By precisely controlling reaction conditions, it prioritizes the precipitation and filtration of metallic impurities such as aluminum and iron, as well as some fluorides, greatly reducing the risk of scaling and clogging in the subsequent evaporation stage. This creates a prerequisite for the long-term stable operation of the MVR system and improves the purity of the final lithium product.

2.Top-Tier Corrosion-Resistant Materials and Structural Design

To address the highly corrosive components such as residual fluoride ions in the pretreated material, the system's core equipment (such as heaters, evaporation chambers, compressor flow channels, and circulating pumps) all utilize high-grade corrosion-resistant materials, such as Hastelloy C276 or titanium-palladium alloys. Simultaneously, the structural design avoids gaps and dead zones, fundamentally solving the corrosion problem and ensuring the system's long lifespan and high reliability under harsh operating conditions.

3.High-Efficiency MVR Evaporation for High-Fold Lithium Enrichment

The purified feed solution enters the MVR evaporation unit. The system utilizes efficient mechanical vapor recompression technology to evaporate a large amount of water from the feed solution, resulting in a lithium concentration enrichment of tens or even hundreds of times. The resulting concentrated solution (lithium-rich solution) can be directly returned to the main process for the precipitation of lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide, achieving a lithium recovery rate of over 95%, maximizing resource utilization.

4.Anti-scaling and Online Cleaning Guarantee

Despite pretreatment, the system is designed with comprehensive anti-scaling measures. A high-flow-rate forced circulation (FC) process is employed to maintain a high flow rate within the tubes, preventing crystal deposition. An automatic online cleaning (CIP) system is also included, periodically acid-washing or alkaline-washing the heat exchange tubes to easily remove trace amounts of scale and maintain the system in a consistently efficient heat transfer state.

5.Intelligent Control and Safety Guarantee

The entire system is automatically controlled by a DCS/PLC system, monitoring key parameters such as pH, density, temperature, and pressure in real time to ensure that the impurity removal reaction and evaporation process are always within the optimal process window. The system incorporates multiple safety interlocks, providing comprehensive protection against risks such as high temperature, high pressure, and corrosive media, achieving inherent safety. 

III.System Process Flow Overview

1.Pretreatment and Impurity Removal: The raw material liquid first enters the reactor. Under precisely controlled conditions, specific reagents are added, causing impurities such as aluminum and iron to precipitate.

2.Precision Filtration: After reaction, the slurry enters a precision filtration system to achieve efficient solid-liquid separation, obtaining a clear, purified liquid.

3.MVR Evaporation and Enrichment: After multi-stage preheating, the purified liquid enters a forced-circulation MVR evaporator for concentration. The secondary steam is heated and pressurized by a compressor and then recycled as a heat source.

4.Concentrated Liquid Output: After evaporation reaches the predetermined concentration ratio, the high-concentration lithium-rich liquid is continuously discharged and transported to the downstream lithium precipitation process.

5.Condensate Treatment and Reuse: The condensate generated during evaporation contains trace amounts of volatile substances. After specialized treatment, it can be reused or discharged, achieving wastewater reduction.

IV.Project Outcomes and Customer Value

    The successful implementation of this 5t/h aluminum electrolyte impurity removal and lithium extraction MVR evaporation system has brought groundbreaking value to the customer:

1.Economic Benefits: Transforming hazardous waste that previously required paid treatment into high-value lithium resources, turning "waste" into treasure, opening up new profit growth points, and demonstrating a significant return on investment.

2.Environmental Protection and Compliance: Achieving resource recovery and volume reduction of hazardous waste, perfectly complying with national circular economy and environmental regulations, and enhancing the company's green image.

3.Technological Leadership: Overcoming industry technical bottlenecks, building core technological barriers for the customer, and enhancing its core competitiveness in the lithium battery recycling field.

      This project signifies that Conqinphi possesses leading technical strength and rich engineering experience in handling extremely complex and highly corrosive materials, providing key equipment support for resource recycling across the entire lithium battery industry chain.