FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for classifying and segregating spent lithium ion batteries. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and a method for automatic classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries at pre-treatment stage before metal recovery process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Segregation plays vital role in electronic waste management process. E-waste management domain is dedicated towards the reutilization of valuable metals and working components wherein effective segregation is crucial. Segregation process requires skill, labour, and time. It is considered to be soul of a recovery process as it determines the contamination and presence of odd components in a batch of recyclable devices. Segregation process also determines the overall quality of a recovery process as it controls contamination and presence of unwanted components present in a batch.
Majority of electronic devices are powered by lithium ion batteries. A wide variety of lithium ion batteries are used in electronic devices like smart phones, laptops, medical devices, electric cars etc. The composition of lithium ion batteries such as lithium cobalt, lithium manganese, lithium nickel manganese cobalt batteries, lithium iron phosphate, and lithium nickel cobalt Aluminium batteries varies depending upon their utility. Since, it becomes desirable to identify the battery type and implement appropriate recovery process when they become obsolete. However, it is difficult to identify the battery type by mere visual inspection and hence, a lot of approaches are required like opening the battery to identify the type of battery.
WO 2007/129845 Al discloses an apparatus and method for recycling spent zinc-carbon batteries and alkaline batteries and treats spent batteries through physical and chemical processes in one place with a batch treatment and efficiently recover valuable metals using an eddy current separator, a dust collector and a cooler without generating pollutants. The apparatus comprises: a dust collection means; a magnetic separation means; a size separation means; an eddy current separation means for separating zinc and carbon rods from the nonmagnetic materials larger than a given size, passed through the size separation means; and a recovering means for recovering valuable metals from the nonmagnetic materials smaller than a given size, passed through the size separation means. The method comprises: sucking dust generated in spent batteries; separating magnetic materials from the crushed spent batteries; o sorting nonmagnetic materials in the crushed spent batteries according to size; separating zinc and carbon rods from the nonmagnetic materials larger than a given size using an eddy current; forming powder by drying the nonmagnetic materials smaller than a given size in an electric furnace; and leaching zinc by adding the powder to an alkaline leaching solution. The main drawback of the method for recycling the spent batteries is that given method is applicable for zinc carbon batteries and alkaline batteries only.
CN104577249 B discloses a method for recycling waste lithium cobalt oxide lithium ion battery. The method is characterized in that valuable components in the waste lithium ion battery are completely recycled by integrating the processes of crushing by a punch press, magnetic separation, eddy current selection, anaerobic atmospheric roasting, temperature-variable filtering and the like, and products with the relatively high additional values, such as elemental crude cobalt, lithium carbonate, graphite, copper, aluminium, iron, and plastics are obtained. Manners of crushing by a punch press, magnetic separation, eddy current selection and the like are adopted for performing material separation, so that the original physical properties of materials are kept. Meanwhile, positive powder and negative powder of an electrode material are cooperatively treated, the negative graphite material is effectively utilized, the in-situ preparation of a resource can be realized, and the waste lithium ion battery can be relatively completely recycled. The anaerobic atmospheric roasting is adopted, so that the reaction condition is relatively loose, the loss of a graphite material is reduced, the cost is saved, the technological flow is simplified, and the industrial application practice can be facilitated. The main drawback of the method for recycling waste lithium cobalt oxide lithium ion battery is that given method is applicable for lithium cobalt oxide batteries only and the process gives a high yield of elemental crude cobalt only when a segregated batch of lithium cobalt oxide batteries are fed.
Generally, at pre-treatment stage for a metal recovery process the spent batteries are crushed and the selection of material is done afterwards using effective separation techniques. This approach lacks in achieving high yield of a specific valuable material. Hence, there is a need of developing an effective approach to make the material recovery process high on yield of valuable components.
In order to make the material recovery process effective and achieve high yield of valuable components, it is very much needed that batches of spent batteries used as starting material for the recovery processes shall be classified and segregated. And based on the composition of segregated batch of battery a suitable material recovery process is opted. Lithium ion batteries are capable of inducing eddy current under the influence of applied variable magnetic field. The intensity of induced eddy current depends upon the applied magnetic field and composition of a battery and that very principle can be used to identify battery type from a large batch especially in case of electronic waste management.
However, manual segregation of batteries and other components is a cumbersome process at large scale. Hence, there is a need of automatic approach that can classify and segregate different types of lithium ion batteries at pre-treatment level of a metal recovery process without opening or shredding the batteries.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a method for automatic classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries at pre-treatment level of a recycling process.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that identifies types of lithium ion batteries of mobile phones, laptops, and other electronic equipments using eddy current separation mechanism.
Yet another object to of the present invention is to provide a method of classifying different kinds of lithium ion batteries before shredding.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus comprising a hopper; conveyer belt; magnetic drum possessing a variable magnetic field; deflector plate and plurality of chambers to collect respective components.
Yet another object of the present invention is to separate other contaminating materials of the e-waste like PCB’s, plastics, pencil cells, and metallic components etc.
Yet another object of the present invention is to minimize manual effort in battery segregation and the amount of time involved in manual segregation process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for automatic classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries from an electronic waste batch at the pre-treatment level of the recycling process. The apparatus (101) follows the principle of eddy current to classify and separate spent lithium ion batteries.
According to the preferred embodiment, the apparatus (101) comprises of a hopper (102) to receive batch of batteries for classification and segregation; a conveyer belt (103) that moves over magnetic drums (104) that create a variable magnetic field capable enough to induce eddy current in the lithium ion batteries; a deflector plate that is located on one side of conveyer belt (103) to determine the type of battery based on induced eddy current by each battery; and a plurality of chambers (105,106,107,108) wherein the batteries and other materials fall over the deflector plate (109) into the assigned chambers with variable angle ranging from 40 to 60 degree. Plurality of chambers (105,106,107,108) are assigned for collection of segregated batteries such as aluminium casing batteries, steel casing batteries, pencil cells and other contaminants.
In another embodiment of the proposed invention, the magnetic drums (104) generate magnetic field of the strength ranges from 2000 to 5000 gauss and moves at an rpm range of 1700 to 2300 for inducing eddy current in the spent lithium ion batteries.
In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method of classification and separation of spent lithium ion batteries comprising the steps of:
a) feeding the batch of lithium ion batteries and debris into a hopper (102);
b) moving the lithium ion batteries and debris through a conveyer belt (103) mounted on magnetic drums (104) to create a variable magnetic field on lithium ion batteries and inducing eddy current in the spent lithium ion batteries based upon the composition of the battery; and
c) determining the types of lithium ion battery based on induced eddy current and classifying them based on the intensity of induced eddy current induced upon application of variable magnetic field and throws them over deflector plate (109) at angle ranging from 40-60 degrees such that they fall into their respective chambers (105,106,107,108).
wherein
the deflector plate is manually adjusted at an angle between 40-50° to direct steel casing batteries approximately weighing upto 25gm and between 50-60° to direct the aluminium casing batteries approximately weighing upto 40gm due to repulsion by the magnetic drum (104) at the end of the conveyor belt into the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The various features, advantages and other uses of the present e-waste recycling method and apparatus will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description and drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the apparatus 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 some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus and a method for automatic classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries based on the eddy current generated by each battery depending on the composition at pre-treatment stage is used before metal recovery process.
The apparatus (101) for automatic classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries comprises of:
at least one hopper (102), for receiving and passing on the spent Li ion batteries and other debris on a conveyor belt (103);
the conveyor belt (103) and magnetic drum (104) assembly for carrying the spent Li ion batteries, mounted over plurality of magnetic drum (104), the magnetic drum (104) placed to create a variable magnetic field, to induce eddy current on the spent Li ion batteries thereby creating a static residual charge and oppose any further induction of charge by the variable magnetic field;
at least one deflector plate (109) mounted between one end of the conveyor belt (103) and plurality of chambers either continually or intermittently;
plurality of chambers (105,106,107,108), placed at the bottom of the conveyor belt (103) to receive the charged Li ion batteries and other debris like PCBs and plastics into the assigned chambers (105,106,107,108); and
wherein the deflector plate (109) is manually adjusted to direct batteries at variable angle of deflection ranging from 40 to 60 degrees due to repulsion by the magnetic drum (104) at the end of the conveyor belt to the same charged Li ion batteries into the chambers.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention is proposed a method of classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries comprising the steps of:
d) feeding the batch of lithium ion batteries and debris into a hopper (102);
e) moving the lithium ion batteries and debris through a conveyer belt (103) mounted on magnetic drums (104) to create a variable magnetic field on lithium ion batteries and inducing eddy current in the spent lithium ion batteries based upon the composition of the battery; and
f) determining the types of lithium ion battery based on induced eddy current and classifying them based on the intensity of induced eddy current induced upon application of variable magnetic field and throws them over deflector plate (109) at angle ranging from 40-60 degrees such that they fall into their respective chambers (105,106,107,108).
wherein the deflector plate is manually adjusted at an angle between 40-50° to direct steel casing batteries approximately weighing upto 25gm and between 50-60° to direct the aluminium casing batteries approximately weighing upto 40gm due to repulsion by the magnetic drum (104) at the end of the conveyor belt into the chamber.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the apparatus (101) according to the main embodiment of the present invention. The waste material is fed into the apparatus (101) through at least one hopper (102) from where it is transferred to the conveyer belt (103) moving under variable magnetic field generated by magnetic drum(s) assembled alongside the conveyor belt. The lithium ion batteries present in the e-waste induce eddy current depending upon the composition of batteries and applied magnetic field. The eddy current generated by each battery determines the type of battery and throws them over the deflector plate (109) at an angle ranges from 40-60 degrees such that they fall into their respective chambers.
In another embodiment, the method can be applied to separate non magnetic materials including pencil cells; plastic materials; PCB’s and other contaminants.
EXAMPLE 1
Batch wise testing the method for automatic classification and segregation of spent Li ion batteries
The method of segregation of spent lithium ion batteries using apparatus 101 was tested batch wise as per the procedure. In order to get the reproducibility of the process, the test was performed in 5 different batches, where around 500 Kg of spent lithium ion batteries were taken in each batch, the experimental data for which is given in Table 1.
Table 1: Experimental data on segregation of spent lithium ion batteries.

In the segregation of spent batteries the test reported for 5 different batches, approximately 95% of aluminium casing batteries with around 5% of steel casing batteries were collected from the chamber 1, which was confirmed by manual inspection in all five batches. Similarly, the materials collected from the chamber 2 in all five batches consist of around 96% of steel casing batteries with 1% of plastics and PCBs. However, only 3% of aluminium casing batteries was found in the chamber 2 also. In the chamber 3, more than 95% of plastics and PCBs were found with contamination of 3% of steel batteries and 2% of other materials such as pencil cells, waste metallic pieces. In the case of chamber 4, only 2% of PCBs and plastics materials was found with more than 97% of other contaminants like pencil cells, waste metallic pieces etc. In all five batches, the segregation efficiency of each chamber was found to be more than 95%.
Therefore, from the observed data it is evident that spent Li ion batteries can be efficiently classified and segregated using the developed apparatus and method in the present invention before metal recovery process based on the intensity of eddy current induced due to composition of the battery.
The technological advancement in classification and segregation of spent Li ion batteries at pre-treatment stage enables a particular type of batch of battery undergo a suitable metal recovery process based on composition of battery and yield a high amount of metal.
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 description. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

We Claim:
1. An apparatus (101) for automatic classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries comprising of:

a) at least one hopper (102), for receiving and passing on the spent Li ion batteries;
b) a conveyor belt (103) for receiving the spent Li ion batteries passed on by said hopper;
c) at least one magnetic drum (104) to create a variable magnetic field;
d) a plurality of chambers (105,106,107,108) placed at the bottom of the conveyor belt (103) to receive the segregated batteries; and
e) at least one deflector plate (109) mounted between the conveyor belt (103) and plurality of chambers either continually or intermittently;

wherein,
the variable magnetic field induces eddy current on the spent Li ion batteries thereby creating a static residual charge and oppose any further induction of charge by the variable magnetic field; and
the deflector plate is manually adjusted to direct the batteries into the chambers at variable angle of deflection ranging from 40 to 60 degrees due to repulsion by the magnetic drum (104).

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the magnetic drum (104) generates magnetic field of the strength ranging from 2000 to 5000 gauss and rotates at an rpm ranging from 1700 to 2300 for inducing eddy current in the spent lithium ion batteries.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deflector plate is manually adjusted at an angle between 40-50°to direct steel casing batteries approximately weighing upto 25gm into the chamber.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deflector plate is manually adjusted at an angle between 50-60° to direct the aluminium casing batteries approximately weighing upto 40gm into the chamber.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein segregation efficiency of each chamber is approximately 95%.

6. A method of classification and segregation of spent lithium ion batteries comprising the steps of:
g) feeding the batch of lithium ion batteries into a hopper (102);
h) moving the lithium ion batteries through a conveyer belt (103) mounted on a magnetic drum (104) to create a variable magnetic field on lithium ion batteries and induce eddy current in the spent lithium ion batteries based upon the composition of the battery; and
i) determining the types of lithium ion battery based on the induced eddy current and classifying them based on the intensity of induced eddy current induced upon application of variable magnetic field and throws them over deflector plate at angle ranging from 40-60 degrees such that they fall into their respective chambers (105,106,107,108).

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the magnetic drum (104) generates magnetic field of the strength ranging from 2000 to 5000 gauss and rotates at an rpm ranging from 1700 to 2300 for inducing eddy current in the spent lithium ion batteries.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the deflector plate is manually adjusted at an angle between 40-50° to direct steel casing batteries approximately weighing upto 25gm into the chamber.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the deflector plate is manually adjusted at an angle between 50-60° to direct the aluminium casing batteries approximately weighing upto 40gm into the chamber.

10. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the segregation efficiency of each chamber is approximately 95%.