JP2817970B2 - Graphite powder production equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a graphite powder production apparatus for heating a carbon powder to graphitize it.

"Conventional technology and its problems" As is well known, carbon products are widely used in various fields, and in particular, in recent years, demand for graphite products has been increasing.

By the way, graphite powder, which is a raw material for graphite products, is produced by heating amorphous carbon powder to a high temperature of about 2,000 to 3,000 ° C to graphitize it. Up to now, there has not been provided an effective graphite production apparatus which can be converted into a graphite. For this reason, conventional graphite production has been carried out by a batch method. One cycle time requires several tens of days, and productivity is extremely poor. Therefore, it has been difficult to reduce costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a graphite powder manufacturing apparatus capable of continuously graphitizing carbon powder.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is a graphite powder producing apparatus for graphitizing by heating carbon powder to a high temperature, and is provided with a furnace body and a vertically penetrating furnace body. A mold in which a spiral groove-shaped passage is formed by a screw provided therein, and heating means provided inside the furnace body and heating the mold from the outside, comprising: The method is characterized in that the carbon powder charged into the inside is heated through the mold by the heating means while being lowered in the passage, thereby being graphitized and taken out from the lower end of the mold.
Further, it is preferable that a gas blowing means for blowing gas into the passage through a gas blowing pipe provided inside the mold is provided.

[Operation] The graphite powder production apparatus of the present invention is configured to continuously charge the raw material carbon powder from the upper end of the mold, to lower the carbon powder by its own weight, and to continuously remove the carbon powder from the lower end of the mold. By heating the mold to a high temperature by a heating means, the carbon powder passing through the mold through the mold is heated to be graphitized. And, by providing a screw in the mold, by making the passage in which the powder descends into a spiral groove shape, the powder will descend while turning in the mold, and as a result, the powder will be naturally stirred and The drift is suppressed, and the self-weight of the powder is supported by the screw to prevent the occurrence of the shelving phenomenon. Is also heated.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

FIG. 1 shows an overall schematic configuration of a graphite powder producing apparatus of the present embodiment, and reference numeral 1 in the figure denotes a furnace body. Inside the furnace body 1, a preheating chamber 2 formed of a heat insulating material,
A heating chamber 3 and a pre-cooling chamber 4 are connected in this order from the top, and a heater (heating means) 5 is provided in the heating chamber 3. The furnace body 1 is configured so that its internal air can be replaced with an atmospheric gas (generally an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon).

A charging chamber 6 connected to the preheating chamber 2 is provided at an upper portion of the furnace body 1, and a charging hopper 7 is further provided above the charging chamber. A supply pipe 8 for carbon powder C as a raw material is connected to the charging hopper 7, and a bell-shaped valve 9 is movable between the charging hopper 7 and the charging chamber 6 by a driving device 10. Is provided.

On the other hand, a cooling chamber 11 connected to the pre-cooling chamber 4 is provided at a lower portion of the furnace body 1, and a discharge hopper 12 is further provided below the cooling chamber 11, and a funnel-shaped discharge port 13 is provided therebetween. At the same time, a screw feeder 14 for taking out graphite powder B as a product is attached to a lower portion of the discharge hopper 12. The wall of the cooling chamber 11 has a water-cooling structure, and a cooling fin (not shown) is provided inside the cooling chamber 11 so as to forcibly cool the graphite powder B stored therein.

At the center of the furnace body 1, a long cylindrical mold penetrating the furnace body 1 vertically and having an upper end opening to the charging chamber 6 and a lower end opening to the cooling chamber 11. 15 are provided. The mold 15 is formed by graphite, and a portion located inside the heating chamber 3 is heated by the heater 5 located outside the heating chamber 3, whereby a portion located inside the heating chamber 3 is located. The intermediate portion is heated to a temperature required for graphitizing the carbon powder C, for example, a temperature of about 2,000 ° C. to 3,000 ° C. The mold 15 is heated to a temperature as described above at a portion located in the heating chamber 3, and the mold 15 has its own excellent heat transfer effect.
Not only the inside but also the upper and lower portions thereof, that is, the portions located in the preheating chamber 2 and the precooling chamber 4 become high in temperature, but the temperature gradually decreases toward the upper and lower ends of the mold 15.

Further, a core 16 is provided in the mold 15. The core 16 is formed of graphite similarly to the mold 15, has a length extending from the upper end to the lower end of the mold 15, and has a lower end supported by a support portion 17 provided in the cooling chamber 11. Is provided.
The core 16 is formed by forming a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) screws 19 around a columnar core material 18, and by disposing the core 16 in the mold 15. Multiple in mold 15 (four in the example shown)
The spiral groove-shaped powder passage 20 is formed, and the raw material powder C charged into the inside from the upper end of the mold 15 descends while spirally turning around the core 18 in each passage 20. Become.

If the pitch of each screw 19 is set to be large, the descending speed of the powder C is increased, and if the pitch is set to be small, the descending speed is decreased. Therefore, the descending speed of the powder C is adjusted by adjusting the pitch of the screw 19. However, the angle of inclination of the screw 19 with respect to the horizontal plane can be adjusted so that the powder C does not stay on the screw 19 and the descent thereof is not hindered. Is about 45 ゜).

Further, the above device is provided with gas blowing means 21 for blowing the atmospheric gas into the passage 20. The gas blowing means includes two gas blowing pipes 21 a and 21 b incorporated in the core material 18 of the core 16, and a gas blowing pipe for blowing gas from the gas blowing pipes 21 a and 21 b toward each passage 20. 22 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and a gas supply source device 21c provided outside the furnace and connected to the gas injection pipes 21a and 21b.

The above-mentioned gas blowing pipes 22 are provided at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the core 16, but are connected to one of the gas blowing pipes 21a as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. The position of the blowing pipe 22 and the position of the blowing pipe 22 connected to the other gas blowing pipe 21b are different from each other.

Further, the gas supply source device 21c includes two gas injection pipes 2c.
Gas is supplied alternately to 1a and 21b, whereby the gas is alternately blown into the passage 20 from the gas blowing pipe 22 provided at a different position from each other. . Further, the gas supply source device 21c
Can change the gas blowing pressure in a pulsed manner at a predetermined cycle.

The gas blowing means 21 blows gas into the passage 20 as described above, and
The purpose of this is to prevent the powder C from being suspended in the shelf 20 and to eliminate the suspension when the shelf has been produced.

When gas is simultaneously supplied to both gas blowing pipes 21a and 21b and gas is simultaneously blown out from all gas blowing pipes 22, the gas pressure in each passage 20 only increases uniformly, so that the shelf is suspended. There is no pressure difference between the upper and lower parts, and it is difficult to break the hanging of the shelves. However, as described above, the two systems of the blowing pipes 21a and 21b
By alternately supplying gas, the gas can be alternately blown out from different positions, so that pressure can be alternately applied from above and below the shelf hanging portion, so that the hanging of the shelf can be easily eliminated. In addition, by intermittently blowing gas or changing the gas pressure in a pulsed manner to increase or decrease the strength, the hanging of the shelf can be more effectively eliminated.

With the above configuration, this graphite powder manufacturing apparatus can manufacture graphite powder B by continuously graphitizing carbon powder C as a raw material.

That is, the carbon powder C, which is a raw material,
Filling the cooling chamber 11 and the discharge hopper 12,
After the mold 15 is heated, the carbon powder C is continuously supplied to the charging hopper 7 through the supply pipe 8 and the valve 9 is depressed every predetermined time to thereby reduce a predetermined amount of carbon powder C.
Is charged into the charging chamber 6 from the charging hopper 7, and the powder filled in the discharge hopper 12 is taken out by the screw feeder 14. As a result, the carbon powder C flows down from the charging chamber 6 into each passage 20, and gradually descends in the passage 20 by its own weight.

Then, the carbon powder C descending in such a manner is preheated by the mold 15 while passing through the preheating chamber 2, and is further heated to a temperature required for graphitization while passing through the heating chamber 3. It is heated and graphitized, where graphite powder B is produced.

The graphite powder B produced as described above is further cooled while gradually descending and passing through the pre-cooling chamber 4, flows down from the lower end of the mold 15 into the cooling chamber 11, and stays there for a predetermined time and is sufficiently cooled. After being forcibly cooled, it is discharged into the discharge hopper 12 through the discharge port 13 and the screw feeder 14
Are taken out by a predetermined amount.

In the graphitization process, the carbon powder C
From the heating chamber 3 to the cooling chamber 11 through the pre-cooling chamber 4 for about 3 hours from the time when the cooling chamber 11 flows into the mold 15 to the time when the cooling chamber 11 passes through the heating chamber 3 through the pre-heating chamber 2.
The descending speed of the powder (carbon powder C as a raw material and graphite powder B as a product) is preferably set so that the cooling time in the chamber 11 is about 10 hours.
In addition to setting the pitch in advance so as to obtain a desired descent speed, the amount of the carbon powder C charged into the charging chamber 6 and the amount of the graphite powder B extracted from the discharge hopper 12 are adjusted. Good.

As described above, the carbon powder C
Can be graphitized continuously and in a very short time as compared with the conventional batch method.
Therefore, production efficiency can be significantly improved.

And in the above device, the screw is
Since the core 20 having the core 19 is provided and the passage 20 where the powder descends is formed in a spiral groove shape, the powder will descend while turning around the core 18, and therefore, when such a core 16 is not provided. In this case, it is possible to effectively prevent poor heat transfer to the carbon powder C, its drift, and the occurrence of the hanging phenomenon.

That is, the carbon powder C, which is a raw material, does not have a very good thermal conductivity, and the powder C is not agitated simply by lowering it in the cylindrical mold 15, so that the powder C is in contact with the inner surface of the mold 15. Although the powder which is only heated and goes down the center side may not be sufficiently heated, in the apparatus of the above embodiment, the powder C is the core material 18.
As a result, the powder C is naturally stirred when descending while swirling around. As a result, all the powders C are uniformly heated and surely graphitized.

In addition, since the outer peripheral end surface of the screw 19 is in contact with or sufficiently close to the inner surface of the mold 15, sufficient heat transfer is performed from the mold 15 to the screw 19, and as a result, the temperature of the screw 19 and the core material 18 are naturally determined. It is growing. Therefore, the carbon powder C is not only heated from the outside by the mold 15, but also heated from the inside by the screw 19 and the core material 18 of the core 16, and therefore, when such a core 16 is not provided. The efficiency of heating the carbon powder C can be remarkably increased as compared with the case of FIG.

Further, when the core 16 is not provided, the descent speed is large at the center of the mold 15, and at a portion along the inner surface of the mold 15, a sufficient descent speed due to frictional resistance generated between the core and the inner surface of the mold 15. Although it is inevitable that the descent speed is not uniform at each position in the radial direction to cause a significant drift, it is unavoidable that in the above-mentioned apparatus, the inside of the mold 15 is formed by the screw 19 into four small spiral passages 20 in the shape of a spiral groove. Due to the partitioning, the drift is naturally sufficiently suppressed.

Further, when the core 16 is not provided,
There is a possibility that the falling powders mutually support each other to cause a so-called shelving phenomenon, so that the powder cannot be lowered. Particularly, in the lower part in the mold 15, the weight of all the powder filling the upper part of the mold 15 is heavy, so that the shelf is easily suspended. However, in the above-described apparatus, the powder is supported by its own weight by the screw 19 forming the passage 20, so that a large weight is not added even at the lower part of the mold 15, and as a result, shelf suspension is unlikely to occur. However, even if shelving occurs, the shelving is quickly eliminated by the pressure of the gas blown into the passage 20 by the gas blowing means, and the drop of the powder is not hindered.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, mold
As the heating means for heating 15, it is also possible to adopt an induction heating type instead of using a resistance heating type heater. Further, in the above embodiment, the four passages 20 are provided by providing the four screws 19 in the core. However, the number of the screws 19 and the passages 20 formed by the screws 19 depends on the pitch and the sectional area thereof. May be set as appropriate depending on the combination of

Further, in the above embodiment, the spiral groove-shaped passage 20 is formed by disposing the core 16 having the screw 19 in the cylindrical mold 15.
As shown in the drawing, a screw 31 is integrally formed on the inner surface of a mold 30 and a columnar core 32 is disposed at the center of the screw 31 to form the same passage 20 as in the above embodiment.
Can be formed. In this case, although the processing of the mold 30 is slightly complicated, the screw 31
Since the heat transfer effect to the powder is further increased, there is an advantage that the heating efficiency for the powder can be further improved.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail, the present invention is configured such that the mold penetrating the furnace body vertically is heated by the heating means, and the carbon powder flowing into the inside from the upper end of the mold is filled in the mold. As it is configured to be graphitized by heating by a mold while passing through, it goes without saying that continuous graphitization of the carbon powder is realized, and the passage in which the powder descends by the screw provided in the mold. The spiral groove shape allows the powder to descend while being stirred by itself, preventing its drift and hanging from the shelves.Moreover, since heat is transferred from the mold to the screw, the powder is also heated by the screw, and the carbon There is an effect that the powder can be surely and efficiently graphitized.

In addition, if a gas blowing means for blowing gas into the passage is provided, there is an effect that even if a shelf is hung, the hanging of the shelf can be easily canceled by the gas pressure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of a graphite powder producing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional view showing the overall schematic structure, and FIG. 2 is a line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1. 4 and 5 show another embodiment. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a main part of the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view taken along the line VV of FIG. C: carbon powder, B: graphite powder, 1 ... furnace body, 2 ... preheating chamber, 3 ... heating chamber, 4 ... precooling chamber, 5 ... heater (heating means), 6 ... charging Chamber 7, Loading hopper, 11 Cooling chamber, 12 Discharge hopper, 14 Screw feeder, 15 Mold, 16 Core, 18 Core material, 19 Screw, 20 ... passage, 21 ... gas blowing means, 21a, 21b ... gas blowing pipe, 21c ... gas supply source device, 22 ... gas blowing pipe, 30 ... mold, 31 ... screw, 32 ... core material.

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Tsutsutaka Kumashiro 4-1-2, Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-3-123638 (JP, A) JP-A Heisei 2-18405 (JP, A) JP-A-49-15693 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) C01B 31/04 101

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A graphite powder producing apparatus for graphitizing a carbon powder by heating the carbon powder to a high temperature, comprising a furnace body, and a screw provided vertically through the furnace body and provided inside. A mold in which a spiral groove-shaped passage is formed, and heating means provided inside the furnace body for heating the mold from the outside, the carbon powder charged into the inside of the mold from the upper end of the mold, An apparatus for producing graphite powder, wherein the apparatus is configured to be graphitized by being heated through the mold by the heating means while being lowered in the passage, and taken out from the lower end of the mold. 2. The graphite powder according to claim 1, further comprising gas blowing means for blowing gas into said passage through a gas blowing pipe provided inside said mold. Manufacturing equipment.