DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970

(39 of 1970)

&

THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

[See Section 10 and Rule 13]

TITLE:

“AN APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR DISCHARGING SPENT LITHIUM-ION BATTERY”

APPLICANT:

ATTERO RECYCLING PVT. LTD.
A company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956
having address at
173, Raipur Industrial Area, Bhagwanpur, Roorkee, Haridwar Uttarakhand – 247661, India

PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION:
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of discharging spent lithium-ion batteries. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cost effective, environment-friendly, easy to operate apparatus and a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery that provides an electrolytic product and by which the energy of the spent lithium-ion battery is fully utilized.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the past few years, as electronic devices have become more portable and cordless, the demand for compact, lightweight, high-energy-density non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries as a driving power source has increased. Furthermore, technology development for non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries that require long-term durability, such as power storage and electric vehicles, has been accelerated.
Lithium ion battery is an example of non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable batteries that work primarily on the movement of lithium ions between a positive and a negative electrode. During the charging process, lithium ions are extracted from the positive electrode of the battery and introduced into the negative electrode through the electrolyte, and the negative electrode is in a lithium-rich state; the opposite is true when discharging. Due to their exceptional performance, lithium ion batteries have recently emerged as the appropriate power source for a new generation of electric vehicles.
In the battery manufacturing processes, the testing in the charging and discharging of the battery must be carried on to ensure that the battery capacity meets the required specification. Since, batteries consist of a large number of very different and in some cases valuable materials, it is advisable to recycle batteries so that at least some of their components can be reused. Therefore, the recycling process usually includes a shredding process. However, when shredding batteries, it is essential to ensure that the batteries are completely discharged, otherwise there is an increased risk of fire hazard during shredding. Many devices and methods for discharging of batteries have been reported in the prior art.
US8222867B2 discloses a battery charging and discharging apparatus and method. The battery charging and discharging apparatus comprises a power source and a plurality of charging and discharging module. The charging and discharging module comprises a current-limiting transistor, a current limiting resistor, a charging controlling unit. The citation also discloses a method which reduce heat loss arising during charging and discharging of the battery and achieve recycling of the direct-current (DC) power. In addition, the method is implemented to further feedback the discharging energy from the battery to a power source in a direct current. However, the original power quality factor is easily degraded by the feed backed alternating current, which significantly reduces the ability to recycle the discharging energy.
DE102020200216 discloses about a method for discharging batteries, wherein the method comprises the following steps: providing a dip tank which contains an electrolyte solution, introducing batteries to be discharged into the electrolyte solution, discharging the batteries by chemical reaction with the electrolyte solution, removing the batteries from the electrolyte solution. The drawback of this invention is that the invention requires manual control for maintaining temperature and hence, the method is complex to operate.
US5569996A discloses a method and apparatus for discharging batteries where a battery discharge device is having a non-conducting base member including a first solid conducting plate also having a second conducting plate having holes therein with a first insulating member or air space between the first and second conducting plates. Holes are provided in the first insulating plate and the second conducting plate so that pegs can be pushed through the holes to allow contact between the battery terminals and the first solid conducting plate so as to allow a current to flow between the terminals of the battery and thereby discharge the batteries. However, the limitation of this invention is that it is complex to operate.
Thomas Langner et al., (Scientific Reports) published in 2021 discloses studies on the deposition of copper in lithium ion batteries during the deep discharge process. This paper is dedicated to the first step of each recycling process, the deep discharge of lithium-ion batteries, as a prerequisite for the safe opening and disassembling. If pouch cells with different states of charge are connected in series and deep-discharged together, copper deposition occurs preferably in the cell with the lower charge capacity.
However, using conventional charging and discharging measurement equipment to examine the charge and discharge of batteries tend to result in large heat loss, making energy use less than ideal. In addition, it becomes economically very difficult to discharge such batteries, especially cell phone batteries, as the form and contacts to which each battery pole is connected, is very different.
Therefore, there is a significant need of an ideal method and apparatus for discharging spent lithium-ion batteries which is economical, safe, energy efficient and environment friendly that overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks in the purview of cited prior art.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery in which pure electrolyte grade copper is recovered as a product.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for discharging spent lithium-ion battery that is safe, easy to operate, contains temperature control system and discharge rate is controlled with a timer.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, which is an electro-hydrometallurgical process having no fire hazards.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, which is environment-friendly, economical and by which the energy of the spent lithium-ion battery is fully utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cost-effective and environment-friendly apparatus that contains a temperature control system where the discharge rate is controlled by timer and provides a method for discharging of spent lithium-ion battery through an electro-hydrometallurgical process.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides an apparatus (100) for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101), comprising of: a battery discharging unit (103); an electrolytic unit (102); a sensor (111); and a plurality of timers (T1, T2).
Here, said spent lithium-ion battery (101) is connected to said electrolytic unit (102) through said battery discharging unit (103) and said electrolytic unit (102) consumes energy discharged from the spent lithium battery (101) to deposit an electrolytic material by electrolysis; said battery discharge unit (101) is having a voltmeter (105), an ammeter (106), and a temperature panel (107) and are connected to main power (108) to display the voltage, current in ampere, and temperature.
Additionally, said battery discharge unit (103) is controlled by said plurality of timers (T1 and T2) for rate of discharge; and said sensor (111) is a resistance temperature detector (RTD)-temperature sensor (111) with a cut-off switch that controls heat generation during discharging process and avoids fire hazard.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, comprising the steps of: (a) connecting a spent lithium-ion battery (101) to an electrolytic unit (102) through a battery discharging unit (103); (b) initiating the discharging process by monitoring current in ampere through ammeter (106) and voltage through voltmeter (105); (c) subsequently monitoring the discharging process until the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero; (d) disconnecting the spent lithium-ion battery from the battery discharging unit (103) followed by collecting a deposited electrolytic material; and (e) weighing the deposited electrolytic material.
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery that is safe, easy to operate, user-friendly, economical, environment friendly and where the energy of the spent lithium-ion battery is fully utilized.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth brief description of the drawings, detailed description of the invention, and claims appended herewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An understanding of an apparatus and a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the following drawings:
Figure 1 is a circuit diagram of an apparatus and the method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a process flow of method of discharging spent lithium ion battery, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a pictorial representation of an apparatus (100) for discharging spent lithium ion battery, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention will now be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
The present invention now will be described hereinafter with reference to the detailed description, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are indicated. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The present invention is described fully herein with non-limiting embodiments and exemplary experimentation.
The present invention relates to a cost-effective and environment-friendly apparatus that contains a temperature control system where the discharge rate is controlled by timer and provides a method for discharging of spent lithium-ion battery through an electro-hydrometallurgical process.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides an apparatus (100) for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101), comprising of: a battery discharging unit (103); an electrolytic unit (102); a sensor (111); and a plurality of timers (T1, T2).
Here, said spent lithium-ion battery (101) is connected to said electrolytic unit (102) through said battery discharging unit (103) and said electrolytic unit (102) consumes energy discharged from the spent lithium battery (101) to deposit an electrolytic material by electrolysis; said battery discharge unit (101) is having a voltmeter (105), an ammeter (106), and a temperature panel (107) and are connected to main power (108) to display the voltage, current in ampere, and temperature.
Additionally, said battery discharge unit (103) is controlled by said plurality of timers (T1 and T2) for rate of discharge; and said sensor (111) is a resistance temperature detector (RTD)-temperature sensor (111) with a cut-off switch that controls heat generation during discharging process and avoids fire hazard.
Moreover, said electrolytic unit (102) includes an electrolytic solution for electrolysis, a plurality of cathode and anode (104); and said electrolytic solution is copper solution and said electrolytic material is electrolytic grade copper. The electrolytic unit (102) contains SS316 cathodes and lead sheets as anodes and copper solution as an electrolyte to utilize the energy during discharge. The electrolyte preferably comprises of 50-60 gpl copper with free acid of 50-70 gpl.
In another preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, comprising the steps of: (a) connecting a spent lithium-ion battery (101) to an electrolytic unit (102) through a battery discharging unit (103); (b) initiating the discharging process by monitoring current in ampere through ammeter (106) and voltage through voltmeter (105); (c) subsequently monitoring the discharging process until the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero; (d) disconnecting the spent lithium-ion battery from the battery discharging unit (103) followed by collecting a deposited electrolytic material; and (e) weighing the deposited electrolytic material.
Here, the method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101) is performed by maintaining the temperature at a range of 20-60°C. The method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery of the present is temperature-controlled through a temperature controller that prevents the energy flow by stopping the discharge process and again starts allowing the energy flow for the discharge process only when the temperature reaches below 60°C.
Moreover, the rate of discharging process in step (c) is controlled by a plurality of timers (T1 and T2) that is governed by a temperature controller (TC-containing thermocouple) to avoid accidents. Further, the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero in step (c) at a time period of 55-60 minutes; said deposited electrolytic material in step (d) is electrolytic grade copper; and weight of said deposited electrolytic material in step (e) is in a range of 245-250 g.
Additionally, the present invention provides electrolyte grade copper as a recovered product and the discharged energy of the spent lithium-ion battery (101) is fully utilized.
Referring to Figure 1, a circuit diagram of an apparatus (100) and the method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101) is depicted. Firstly, a spent lithium-ion battery (101) to be discharged is taken and connected to a battery discharging unit (103). The battery discharging unit (103) includes voltmeter (105) and ammeter (106) that monitors the discharging process through measuring current in ampere and voltage. The discharging process continues until the current in ampere and voltage reaches to zero.
Referring to Figure 3, a pictorial representation of an apparatus for discharging spent lithium ion battery, is depicted. The apparatus (100) consists of a voltmeter (105) and ammeter (105) to monitor the voltage and current in ampere during discharging plurality of timers to control the rate of discharge; RTD-temperature sensor (111) with a cut-off switch to control heat generation during discharging process and to avoid a fire hazard; a temperature panel (107) to display temperature during discharge and an electrolytic unit (102) containing SS316 cathodes and Lead sheets as anodes (104) and copper solution as electrolyte (50-60 gpl copper with free acid of 50-70 gpl), to utilize the energy during discharge.
EXAMPLE 1
Working experiment 1 of an apparatus (100) and the method for discharging of spent lithium-ion battery
V-LFP4810 battery of Vision technology Co LTD with 500wh (48V10Ah) was taken for discharging process. The battery (101) was connected to the battery discharging unit (103). The discharge process was monitored through current in ampere and voltage. Initially, the current in ampere was 240 A and the voltage was 49 V, with time the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero in 1 hour. Cathodes were taken out and weighed. The weight of the deposited copper was 250 g.
EXAMPLE 2
Working experiment 2 of an apparatus (101) and the method for discharging of spent lithium-ion battery
V-LFP4810 battery of Vision technology Co LTD with 500wh (48V10Ah) was taken for discharging process. The battery (101) was connected to the battery discharging unit (103). The discharge process was monitored through current in ampere and voltage. Initially, the current in ampere was 232 A and the voltage was 45 V, with time the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero in 55 min. Cathodes were taken out and weighed. The weight of the deposited copper was 245 g. A process flow of method of discharging spent lithium ion battery is depicted in Figure 2. The discharging process consists of the following steps: remove the screws and open the top cover of the spent lithium-ion battery (101); detach the printed circuit board (PCB) from the battery unit; keep the electrolytic unit (102) near the discharge area; connect the positive terminal to the anode bus bar (109) connect the negative terminal to the cathode bus bar (110); monitor the current in ampere and voltage till the current reaches zero ampere; and disconnect the spent lithium battery.
EXAMPLE 3
Working principle of an apparatus (100) for discharging spent lithium-ion battery
Figure 1 shows a circuit diagram of an apparatus (100) and the method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101) is depicted. Firstly, a spent lithium-ion battery (101) to be discharged is taken and connected to the battery discharging unit (103). The battery discharging unit (103) includes voltmeter (105) and ammeter (106) that monitors the discharging process through measuring current in ampere and voltage. The discharging process continues until the current in ampere and voltage reaches to zero.
When the spent lithium-ion battery (101) is connected to an electrolytic unit (102), through the battery discharge unit (103), DC power flows from the battery (101) to the electrolysis unit (102). The discharging process is controlled by timer (T1 and T2) for the rate of discharge and further, to avoid accidents/safety purposes the timer is governed by the temperature controller (TC-containing thermocouple). As discharge is spontaneous, rapid, and spent lithium-ion battery contains volatile organic matters with low flash points (from higher energy state to lower energy state) is difficult to control, and needs multilevel control. In apparatus (100), the temperature is maintained and set during discharge to control the fire/explosion. The working experiment for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101) is performed by maintaining the temperature at 60°C as the maximum temperature. When the temperature of the battery (101) reaches 60°C, then the temperature controller prevents the energy flow by stopping the discharge process and then again starts allowing the energy flow for the discharge process only when the temperature reaches below 60°C. Both temperature setting and time setting are kept external for operational comfortability and productivity requirements. Energy received by cell is consumed for electrolysis of copper sulfate to produce copper metal. The voltmeter (105), ammeter (106), and temperature panel (107) are connected to main power (108) so even when discharge is stopped, the voltage, current in ampere, and temperature of the spent lithium-ion battery (101) is displayed. There are three toggle switches (TS) provided for supplying main power (108), timer, and temperature.
Therefore, the present invention provides a simple, cost effective, environment-friendly, easy to operate apparatus and a method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery that provides pure electrolyte grade copper as a recovered product and by which the energy of the spent lithium-ion battery is fully utilized.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forth herein will readily occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
,CLAIMS:CLAIMS
We claim:
1. An apparatus (100) for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101), comprising of:
a battery discharging unit (103);
an electrolytic unit (102);
a sensor (111); and
a plurality of timer (T1, T2);
wherein,
said spent lithium-ion battery (101) is connected to said electrolytic unit (102) through said battery discharging unit (103) and said electrolytic unit (102) consumes energy discharged from the spent lithium battery (101) to deposit an electrolytic material by electrolysis;
said battery discharge unit (101) is having a voltmeter (105), an ammeter (106), and a temperature panel (107) and are connected to main power (108) to display the voltage, current in ampere, and temperature;
said battery discharge unit (103) is controlled by said plurality of timer (T1 and T2) for rate of discharge; and
said sensor (111) is a resistance temperature detector (RTD)-temperature sensor (111) with a cut-off switch that controls heat generation during discharging process and avoids fire hazard.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electrolytic unit (102) includes an electrolytic solution for electrolysis, a plurality of SS316 cathode and a plurality of lead sheets as anode (104).

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said electrolytic solution is copper solution and said electrolytic material is electrolytic grade copper.

4. A method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery, comprising the steps of:

a) connecting a spent lithium-ion battery (101) to an electrolytic unit (102) through a battery discharging unit (103);
b) initiating the discharging process by monitoring current in ampere through ammeter (106) and voltage through voltmeter (105);
c) subsequently monitoring the discharging process until the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero;
d) disconnecting the spent lithium-ion battery from the battery discharging unit (103) followed by collecting a deposited electrolytic material; and
e) weighing the deposited electrolytic material.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery (101) is performed by maintaining the temperature at a range of 20-60°C.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said method for discharging spent lithium-ion battery is temperature-controlled through a temperature controller that prevents the energy flow by stopping the discharge process and again starts allowing the energy flow for the discharge process only when the temperature reaches below 60°C.

7. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein rate of discharging process in step (c) is controlled by a plurality of timer (T1 and T2) that is governed by a temperature controller (TC-containing thermocouple) to avoid accidents.

8. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the current in ampere and voltage came down to zero in step (c) at a time period of 55-60 minutes.

9. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said deposited electrolytic material in step (d) is electrolytic grade copper.

10. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said method provides electrolyte grade copper as a recovered product and the discharged energy of the spent lithium-ion battery (101) is fully utilized.

11. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein weight of said deposited electrolytic material in step (e) is in a range of 245-250 g.

Dated this 14th day of March, 2023

SHRUTI KAUSHIK
Agent for the Applicant
[IN/PA 1324]