Investigation of particulate emissions during handling of electrodes in lithium-ion battery assembly

Abstract

In battery production, damage-free processing of materials and intermediate products is crucial for ensuring battery cell performance. A central step in battery production is cell assembly, in which a multitude of handling processes of electrodes is necessary. These handling processes tend to cause mechanical stress (e. g. gripping force) and particulate emissions (e. g. abrasion), which both must be minimized. Especially the identification of main impacts on particulate emissions during electrode handling is mandatory to understand the consequences on assembly process and to find avoidance strategies. This paper presents a systematic investigation of the particulate emissions, which result from different pneumatic gripping principles used in battery production. The investigation identifies the significance of handling parameters (e. g. air supply pressure) on particulate contamination on electrodes. Therefore, handling experiments are conducted with electrodes and airborne particles are counted.