NMP Recycling
Longer-lasting batteries, more responsible manufacturing
Optimizing Industrial Processes
The manufacture of batteries requires toxic solvents, which call for specialized expertise. In this context, Equans, a partner in the construction of European gigafactories, can design and build facilities for the unloading, storage, and distribution facilities for NMP, and has developed a new process for recovering and treating NMP that serves a dual purpose: optimizing the site’s energy consumption and sustainably reducing its environmental impact.
Your Challenges
Our response: NMP recovery
The manufacture of electric batteries involves the handling of explosive and highly flammable substances. Used as an organic solvent in the production of lithium-ion battery cathodes, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) is a Volatile Organic Compound that cannot be released into the environment. Specifically, the cathode production process consists of:
1- Coating the electrode with a solution of active materials dissolved in the NMP solvent.
2- Continuously drying the film in an oven at a temperature between 100 and 130°C, under controlled conditions to prevent any risk of explosion due to solvent evaporation.
During this delicate process, the NMP will turn into a gas and evaporate into the oven’s drying air.
At this stage, it is essential to remove it from the oven for two reasons:
1- For safety reasons, as an excessively high concentration of NMP can pose an explosion hazard.
2- For efficiency, as the drying process requires controlled physicochemical conditions.
Based on this observation, Equans has developed a sustainable system to extract the exhaust gas from the kiln and recover NMP for reuse. Equans’ expertise is rooted in its ability to design, build, and install an NMP recovery process tailored to the customer’s facility, based on an innovative and patented condensation design.
- An innovative design to optimize energy consumption in battery production unitsEquans’ NMP recovery process via condensation also ensures optimal heat recovery, eliminating the need for thermal energy and reducing energy consumption by up to a factor of 15 compared to zeolite technologies!
- Minimizing the Environmental ImpactTo ensure the safety of people in production areas, regulations require that the oven be kept under negative pressure through continuous exhaust ventilation. Before being released into the environment, the exhaust air undergoes a treatment process designed to capture any residual NMP...
With this new NMP recycling system, you can control your energy consumption and meet environmental requirements.
Welcome to the industry of the future!
Do you have a need? Let's talk about it!
Do you have a need? Let's talk about it!
