High-Speed Laser Drying of Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes: Challenges and Opportunities

• Published in: World electric vehicle journal Vol. 14; no. 9; p. 255
• Main Authors: Fink, Samuel, Demir, Delil, Börner, Markus, Göken, Vinzenz, Vedder, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2023
• Subjects: Air flow; Anodes; binder degradation; Binders; Cellulose; Convective drying; Drying; Electrodes; Energy consumption; Evaporation; Evaporation rate; Gas flow; Graphite; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectra; Laser applications; laser drying; Lasers; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Manufacturing; Near infrared radiation; optical characterization; Optical measurement; Pastes; photonic processing; Radiation; Rechargeable batteries; Slurries; Styrene; United States > US; Germany
• ISSN: 2032-6653; 2032-6653
• DOI: 10.3390/wevj14090255

In modern electrode manufacturing for lithium-ion batteries, the drying of the electrode pastes consumes a considerable amount of space and energy. To increase the efficiency of the drying process and reduce the footprint of the drying equipment, a laser-based drying process is investigated. Evaporation rates of up to 318 g m−2 s−1 can be measured, which is orders of magnitude higher than the evaporation rates in conventional furnace drying processes. Optical measurements of the slurry components in the visible and near-infrared spectrum are conducted. Thermal analyses the of laser-dried samples reveal that the commonly used binders carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC) and styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) are not affected by the laser drying process within the investigated process window. The results indicated that with the combination of a fast laser drying step and a subsequent convection drying step, high evaporation rates can be achieved while maintaining the integrity and adhesion of the anode.