Description

Project Background 

    Nickel sulfate is commercially available in three forms, anhydrous, hexahydrate, and heptahydrate, with nickel sulfate hexahydrate (NiSO₄·6H₂O) being the most widely used in industrial applications. Based on end-use requirements, nickel sulfate is generally classified into electroplating-grade and battery-grade products.

    With the rapid growth of the lithium-ion battery and new energy industries, battery-grade nickel sulfate has become a critical raw material for producing ternary cathode precursors such as NCM and NCA. Different precursor formulations require varying nickel contents, placing increasingly stringent demands on the purity, consistency, and crystal quality of battery-grade nickel sulfate hexahydrate.

    To meet these requirements, we offer a dedicated Battery-Grade Nickel Sulfate Hexahydrate Evaporation & Crystallization Plant, designed to ensure stable product quality and reliable long-term operation. The system integrates evaporation, concentration, and controlled crystallization into a single optimized process, enabling precise control of supersaturation, temperature, and residence time to produce uniform, well-defined crystals with minimal impurities.

Process Flow Description 

    Considering that the solubility of nickel sulfate increases significantly with rising temperature, the Nickel Sulfate Hexahydrate Evaporation & Crystallization Plant is designed as follows:

• Concentration evaporation: The process begins with evaporation at elevated temperatures to produce a highly concentrated nickel sulfate solution from low-concentration feed.

• Flash crystallization: The concentrated solution enters a flash crystallizer, where solid nickel sulfate hexahydrate is separated from the mother liquor.

• Thickening: The resulting slurry is further processed in a thickener to recover additional solids.

• Centrifuge separation: Finally, the mixture of solids and saturated mother liquor passes through a centrifuge for efficient liquid–solid separation, yielding wet nickel sulfate hexahydrate crystals. 

    This process ensures uniform, high-purity crystals and maximizes product recovery, while maintaining energy-efficient and reliable operation.

System Configuration 

The plant is equipped with the following components:

• Evaporation: Either a multi-effect evaporator (MEE) or a mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) evaporator can be used for concentration, depending on site energy conditions, ensuring energy-efficient operation.

• Crystallization: Either vacuum flash crystallization or intermittent cooling crystallization can be adopted, depending on the desired crystal quality and morphology.

• Thickener: Recovers additional solids from the slurry, maximizing overall yield.

• Centrifuge: Separates solids from the liquid for efficient solid-liquid separation.

• Vibrating fluidized bed dryer: Further dries the wet crystals to achieve the required final moisture content.

• Automated control system: Enables fully automated operation of the plant and allows for real-time monitoring and management of process parameters.

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