With the rapid growth of the new‑energy lithium‑battery industry, battery‑grade lithium carbonate, as a core raw material, has seen its production efficiency, product purity, and operating costs emerge as key competitive differentiators for major lithium producers. The conventional batch carbonation process for lithium hydroxide has long been constrained by… The equipment is prone to scaling, pipelines frequently clog, carbon dioxide utilization is low, product quality fluctuates significantly, and operating and maintenance costs are high. Challenging issues persist, constraining the long-term, stable operation of the production line.

Recently, our company’s custom‑designed continuous lithium hydroxide carbonation system for a leading listed company’s battery‑grade lithium carbonate project has been officially commissioned and put into operation. Leveraging years of experience in the R&D and engineering of lithium‑ion battery chemical equipment, we have pioneered an innovative process flow, optimized equipment architecture, and integrated an intelligent control system to deliver a next‑generation, turnkey continuous carbonation solution. This comprehensive approach addresses key technical bottlenecks common across the industry, providing highly reliable, cost‑effective core equipment to support both retrofitting and greenfield lithium‑salt projects.

I. Disrupting Traditional Processes: Continuous Production Lays a Solid Foundation for Efficiency

Traditional batch‑type carbonization reactors suffer from cumbersome operation, large footprint, numerous wear parts, relatively high energy consumption, and poor batch‑to‑batch product consistency. Our company has abandoned outdated processes and pioneered a continuous carbonization architecture, establishing an integrated process flow that enables uninterrupted production across the entire manufacturing cycle.

The system is designed for long, continuous, and stable operation, significantly reducing the frequency of shutdowns for scale removal. The entire process—from lithium hydroxide feed, preheating, and carbonation to lithium carbonate slurry discharge and back‑carbonation cleaning—forms a closed-loop flow. Compared with batch processes, this approach markedly lowers manual labor intensity, substantially improves overall equipment utilization, and perfectly meets the demands of large‑scale production of battery‑grade lithium carbonate.

II. Targeted structural optimization to thoroughly address the persistent industry issues of scaling and tube blockage.

Lithium carbonate feedstock is prone to adhesion and scaling, leading to blockages in piping and gas-distribution equipment—this poses the primary challenge in carbonation‑system operation. Drawing on the material’s characteristics, we have developed a dedicated, end-to-end design for preventing clogging and fouling, with multiple structural innovations that directly address the industry’s key pain points:

Carbonation Tower Body Design: The tower interior is polished to reduce crystal adhesion; it incorporates multiple independently developed technologies to further inhibit scale formation.

Meanwhile, the company’s proprietary air‑supply and exhaust systems feature an online decarbonization design that enables in‑line cleaning without disassembly even after scaling occurs. Once cleaning is complete, the system can be swiftly brought back into operation, minimizing downtime and associated losses.

Based on feedback from frontline operations, the system has undergone multiple refinements to comprehensively enhance its operational stability.

III. Energy conservation, consumption reduction, and yield improvement; resource recovery to achieve cost optimization.

At the production cost‑control level, this system delivers dual savings in raw materials and energy, helping enterprises expand their profit margins.

Efficient carbon dioxide recovery significantly boosts raw material utilization, reduces exhaust emissions and material waste, and delivers both economic benefits and environmental value.

Precision Temperature Control for Energy Efficiency: Precisely regulates the temperature of incoming materials to prevent temperatures that are too low or too high, maintaining the reaction temperature within the process window.

The entire system’s operation ensures that its three‑waste emissions comply with national environmental protection standards and meet the green production requirements of the lithium‑ion battery industry.

IV. High-end materials +  Stringent standards ensure product purity and long equipment life.

Battery-grade lithium carbonate has extremely stringent impurity control requirements; all equipment, piping, and valves that come into contact with the material are made of… 304  Made of stainless steel and rigorously compliant with copper- and zinc‑free standards, it prevents metallic contaminants from compromising product quality and fully meets the stringent cleanliness requirements of battery‑grade lithium‑ion material production.

Equipment manufacturing fully complies with multiple national and industry standards, as well as our company’s registered enterprise manufacturing standards.   ; Seals, valves, and core‑stage pumps all utilize high‑quality, ultra‑high‑standard products.

Equipment corrosion protection, coating, labeling, and thermal insulation all comply with the lithium‑battery industry’s stringent standards; rust removal on non‑stainless steel components reaches Sa2.5 Grade, employing a multi-layer coating system with low-copper, zinc‑rich fluorocarbon paint, with a total dry film thickness of… 200-230 mu m ; Piping and equipment are clearly labeled, and insulation materials such as aluminum–magnesium composites and aluminosilicate fiber—specialized thermal insulation products—are selected to accommodate the complex climatic conditions found across various plant sites.

V. End-to-end intelligent self-control for hassle-free, secure operations and maintenance.

The system is equipped with Siemens. PLC Control system with an integrated human-machine interface, enabling local operation. +  The central control room implements centralized control in dual-mode operation, achieving full-process automation:

Process parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow rate, and liquid level are monitored online in real time and automatically regulated, with critical process variables precisely controlled to ensure consistent and stable lithium carbonate product quality.

Implement multiple safety interlock mechanisms: integrated protection for pressure, liquid level, temperature, valves, and pump units; a rapid‑response emergency shutdown system to fortify the safety barrier.

Piping, pump bodies, and carbon dioxide lines are equipped with an online automatic flushing sequence; equipment start-up and shutdown simultaneously perform pipeline purging and cleaning, minimizing manual intervention. The control system is provisioned with ample communication interfaces and redundancy. IO The interface enables seamless integration with upstream and downstream production lines, supporting plant-wide intelligent system integration.

V. Full‑cycle technical services, delivering end-to-end turnkey solutions.

From preliminary design and equipment manufacturing to transportation and delivery, as well as on-site installation guidance, commissioning, personnel training, and after-sales maintenance, we offer end-to-end, one-stop services throughout the entire lifecycle.

Standardize the delineation of project boundary limits, clarify the supply list, interface standards, and drawing delivery schedule, and ensure efficient delivery to safeguard project progress.

Establish a rapid-response after-sales service mechanism, 1000  Within kilometers 24  hour, 1000  Kilometers away 48  Our on-site engineers arrive promptly, conduct regular follow-up visits and inspections, and offer long-term preferential pricing on spare parts and consumables.

We provide free specialized training for on-site operators and technicians on process principles, equipment operation, and control system maintenance and troubleshooting, accompanied by a comprehensive set of technical documentation, including complete operating procedures, drawings, program files, and test reports.

Conclusion

Against the backdrop of capacity upgrades and technological advancements in the lithium‑battery industry, continuous carbonization systems—characterized by low failure rates, high automation, reduced costs, and superior purity—have become the standard core configuration for lithium carbonate production lines. Our company has long been dedicated to lithium‑battery and lithium‑salt equipment, guided by customers’ real‑world operating conditions and driven by process innovation, continuously pushing beyond the limitations of conventional equipment technologies.

No. 155, Kuanting Street, Circular Chemical Industry Park, High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province

Phone
+8619933006765

Email
ymequipment@ymhgsb.com