TECHNICALARTICLE SERIES

SOUTH AFRICA

FLEXICON AFRICA (PTY) LTD P.O. Box 10450 Linton Grange Port Elizabeth 6015 South Africa Tel: +27 41 453 1871Fax: +27 41 453 1670E-mail: sales@flexicon.co.zaWeb: www.flexicon.co.za

CHILE

FLEXICON CHILE LTD Avenida Andres Bello #1051 Oficina #1602 Providencia Santiago ChileTel: +56 2 2415 1286 Fax: +56 2 2415 1393E-mail: ventas@flexicon.comWeb: www.flexicon.com

SINGAPORE

FLEXICON SINGAPORE PTE LTD27 West Coast Highway#02-22Singapore 117867Tel: +65 6778 9225Fax: +65 6690 8850E-mail: sales@flexicon.com.sg

GERMANY

FLEXICON (EUROPE) LTD Matthäusstrasse 13 63743 Aschaffenburg GERMANY Tel: +49 170 8 187 613 E-mail: vertrieb@flexiconeurope.deWeb: www.flexiconeurope.de

AUSTRALIA (SYDNEY)

FLEXICON CORPORATION (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTDSuite 5, Level 3 45-47 Hunter St.Hornsby, NSW 2077 Australia Tel: +61 (0)7 3879 4180Fax: +61 (0)2 9477 5548E-mail: sales@flexicon.com.auWeb: www.flexicon.com.au

AUSTRALIA (BRISBANE)

FLEXICON CORPORATION (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD 78 Westgate Street Wacol, QLD 4076 Australia Tel: +61 (0)7 3879 4180 Fax: +61 (0)7 3879 4183E-mail: sales@flexicon.com.auWeb: www.flexicon.com.au

USA

FLEXICON CORPORATION 2400 Emrick Boulevard Bethlehem, PA 18020-8006 USATel: 1 888 FLEXICON (1 888 353 9426) Tel: 1 610 814 2400Fax: 1 610 814 0600E-mail: sales@flexicon.comWeb: www.flexicon.com

UK

FLEXICON (EUROPE) LTD 182 John Wilson Business Park Harvey Drive Whitstable, Kent CT5 3RB United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1227 374710Fax: +44 (0)1227 365821E-mail: sales@flexicon.co.ukWeb: www.flexicon.co.uk

SPAIN

FLEXICON (EUROPE) LTD Méndez Núñez 3-5, Principal 08003 Barcelona Spain Tel: +34 930 020 509E-mail: ventas@flexicon.esWeb: www.flexicon.es

Combustible Silicon Powder forLi-Ion Batteries ConveyedPneumatically, Safely

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Combustible Silicon Powder for Li-Ion Batteries ConveyedPneumatically, Safely

Silicon powder and additives are manually emptiedinto the bag dump station and floor hopper. Thestation includes a bag tray support and dustcollection through two cartridge filters. Powdersflow from the hopper outlet through a pickupadapter into the pneumatic conveying line.

Powders move from the bag dump station through thepneumatic conveying line to the filter receiver(rear) in the main processing area. Fully enclosedsystem prevents the escape of dust.

ABINGDON, OXFORDSHIRE, UK — The future of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteriesfound in laptops, phones, hybrid cars and other applications may be takingshape at a UK startup. Nexeon Ltd. has built a plant at its headquarters inAbingdon, Oxfordshire, to produce a silicon anode it developed thatsignificantly improves the energy density and operating life of Li-ion batteries.

A critical part of producing the silicon anodes involves transferring preciseamounts of silicon powder and other ingredients from a bag dump station to aslurry tank for mixing in an aqueous solution, using a dilute-phase,PNEUMATI-CON® vacuum conveying system from Flexicon (Europe) Ltd.

The transfer is dust-free and safe. "Silicon powder is combustible and can beexplosive under the right conditions," says David Bent, production director atNexeon. "Flexicon analysed the powder and developed the pneumatic systemfor it, including dust control and explosion protection measures."

Bag dump station contains dust

The first step in transporting the powder is manually emptying bags of siliconpowder and additives into the bag dump station mounted on a floor hopper. Abag tray support provides a work surface for the operator to stage, clean andopen bags.

A dust collection system integral to the bag dump station draws airborne dustthrough two cartridge filters, as reverse pulse jets automatically clean thefilters to and return accumulated dust to the hopper.

Pneumatic conveying system feeds weigh hopper

The powders flow from the bottom outlet of the floor hopper through a pickupadapter into the two-stage pneumatic conveying line. The first vertical sectionrises 90 degrees from the hopper outlet and connects to the second horizontalsection, which runs from the silicon unloading area to the main processingarea. The receiving hopper empties into a slurry make-up vessel.

A side channel blower downstream of the filter-receiver atop the receivinghopper provides a vacuum that pulls the material through the pneumatic line,improving dust control. The fully enclosed system transfers the silicon powdervirtually dust-free. Since the system operates under vacuum, even if theintegrity of the enclosed system is unintentionally compromised, the siliconpowder will remain within the conveying system.

Filter receiver is isolated, safe

The filter receiver separates the silicon powder from the air stream before thepowder enters the receiving hopper. Like the bag dump station, it has areverse pulse jet system that automatically cleans the filter cartridges at timedintervals. The filter-receiver is isolated in a safe area and protected with anexplosion relief panel designed to exhaust the energy associated with anexplosion without causing a catastrophic failure of the filter receiver. At thebottom outlet of the receiving hopper, a pneumatically actuated slide gate

From the pneumatic line, the filter-receiverseparates the silicon powder from the air streambefore the powder enters the receiving hopper andis delivered to a slurry tank. A reverse pulse jetsystem cleans the filter cartridges at timedintervals.

valve discharges the silicon powder into the slurry tank.

One set of load cells beneath the floor hopper at the bag dump station incombination with load cells beneath the filter receiver send signals to the PLCwhich automates the delivery of a predetermined amount of powder to theslurry vessel.

A low level sensor near the bottom of the floor hopper signals the PLC to stopthe conveyor until more material is dumped into the hopper in order to achievethe total batch weight. On the receiving hopper, a high level sensor signalsthe PLC to stop the conveyor if the hopper is about to overflow in case of asystem malfunction.

Nexeon avoided a piecemeal approach to equipment selection and installationby relying on a complete system from Flexicon. "We are very happy with thedesign, construction, installation and commissioning service provided byFlexicon," explained Mr. Bent.

Silicon Anode Substitute Boosts Li-ion Performance

Nexeon's technology replaces conventional carbon/graphite anodes (thenegative electrode terminal) in Li-ion batteries with a proprietary siliconformulation structure that increases the energy density of the cell andaddresses inherent expansion issues of silicon.

The market for improved lithium ion anodes is enormous globally as they arefound in consumer electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets andlaptops. The largest emerging market is electric vehicles where demand isexpected to triple, says David Bent, Production Director.

Nexeon Ltd.136 & 153 Eastern AvenueMilton ParkAbingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 4SB+44 1235 436320www.nexeon.co.uk

Nexeon produces silicon anodes that improveperformance of lithium-ion batteries.

Silicon powder is the main ingredient in Nexeon'smanufacture of silicon anodes.