# Improved Technology for Rounding Graphite: Machine Structure and Industrial Test
## 1 Introduction
This is because the shaping machine must be equipped with other equipment, such as a turbine air classifier, dust collector, induced draft fan, etc., to form a complete equipment system to be used in production. If the production of a single shaping machine is increased without changing other supporting equipment, it means that the cost consumed in the shaping process per unit of graphite products will be greatly reduced. There are few literatures focused on the graphite rounding process currently. [PERSON] et al., proposed an improved production process with a new spheroidization machine with high efficiency and low energy consumption for rounding natural graphite for Li-battery applications [13]. The study mainly focused on the introduction of the technical craft, the influence of the process parameters on particle morphology, tap density, specific surface area, etc. This study also proved that the new process proposed has advantages and improvements in the specific energy consumption and yield compared with the traditional technology. However, the realization method, i.e., the equipment used, was not discussed. Simultaneously, there are a large number of studies focusing on the effect of sphericity parameters on the electrochemical properties of graphite materials [14; 15; 16; 17]. On the one hand, the ultimate purpose of spherification of graphite is to improve its electrochemical performance; the most direct means of expression is to assemble the treated material into a lithium-ion battery for electrochemical performance detection, such as specific capacity, rate capability, cycling stability, etc. On the other hand, a large number of studies have confirmed that the electrochemical properties of graphite materials can be significantly improved by treating graphite with spheroids [9]. Spheroidal graphite has a smaller specific surface area and higher tap density. Thus, it has higher first-coulomb efficiency, higher reversible charge-discharge capacity and better cyclic stability [10]. Due to the above reasons, in actual production applications, physical characteristics, such as particle size distribution and tap density, are commonly used to indirectly express the electrochemical performance of materials, which has become the basis for judging whether spherical graphite products meet the application needs, which is also the actual rules of the upstream and downstream industries of the industry. Thereby, particle size distribution and tap density of the spherical graphite are selected as indicators to judge the effect of spherifying graphite. On the basis of the above analysis, the present work focuses on the study of graphite spheroidization equipment, including the influence of equipment structure, main control parameters (including rotating speed of shaping disk, shaping period and rotating speed of classifier) on the spheroidization effect of graphite, and industrial test. The objective of this work is to provide more ideas contributing to the improvement of the structure of the shaping machine for graphite and to reveal more details about the structure and working principle of the shaping machine, which is also aimed to promote the development of this field. Specifically, a new structure of the shaping machine was developed with the aim of shaping graphite by large output and costing less. The equipment system in a pilot scale for graphite rounding was established. Key technological parameters were determined in the process of graphite shaping. This technology points out an economical and efficient way of rounding graphite.