Getting Green Graphite to Market (G3M)

Project description

Multiple graphite properties make it attractive for many industrial applications. Driven by the battery industry, graphite demand is expected to grow over 480% from 2019 to 2029. China currently produces two thirds of the world’s mined graphite, while Canada is the fifth largest producer. Canada has 13 graphite projects in development, many of which are targeting higher value products such as graphene and battery anode precursor materials. In general, profit margins for graphite concentrate (~95% purity) production are insufficient to justify moving ahead with a project in Canada. Profit margins are much greater if the graphite is purified to 99.9+%, which is a requirement for applications such as lithium-ion battery anode production. This makes mine site development viable in Canada. However, the purification of graphite has proven to be a bottleneck for the graphite value chain in Canada. Despite Canada's richness in graphite resources and growing global demand, real or perceived environmental burdens associated with the purification, as well as technical know-how, have stalled progress.

An initial techno-economic assessment and life cycle assessment indicates electro-thermal purification of graphite to 99.9+% in a fluidized bed can be profitable and have minimal environmental burdens. This project will provide technical know-how, via publications and stakeholder engagement, based on experiments with a fluidized bed, supported by modeling and purified graphite characterization. Additionally, reliable economic and environmental assessments will be produced to support decisions in policy, regulations and investment. The ultimate goal is to spur additional investment into clean graphite purification in Canada, particularly for the piloting of a fluidized bed electro-thermal purification system, thus getting green graphite to market.

Key objectives

1. Design and construction of a bench-scale electro-thermal fluidized bed system that is roughly 100 cm tall with a 15 cm inner diameter.
2. Using the system to purify graphite.
3. Characterizing and testing the purified graphite for suitability in battery applications.
4. Modeling the purification process and simulating a scaled-up system.
5. Techno-economic and life cycle assessments (TEA-LCA).

Figure 1: Experimental setup to determine the fluidization properties of graphite at CanmetENERGY in Ottawa.

Figure 2: Vessel for heating graphite to 2800°C at CanmetENERGY in Ottawa