Typically, when a television or computer monitor goes bad, the set is taken to the dump, where the LCD panels are incinerated or buried in the ground. Chemistry researchers from the University of York have found a way to recover a key chemical compound from the old LCD panels that is ideally suited for use in medicine - with the added bonus of reducing the amount of the television that is ultimately sent to the local landfill.

Professor James Clark, director of the York Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and one of the author’s of the research, said: “With 2.5 billion liquid crystal displays already reaching the end of their life, and LCD televisions proving hugely popular with consumers, that is a huge amount of potential waste to manage. It is important that we find ways of recycling as many elements of LCDs as possible so we don’t simply have to resort to burying and burning them.”

Polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) is a chemical compound that is widely used in industry and is a key element in liquid crystal displays. One of the materials key properties is that is non-toxic, and inert to humans - meaning it does not provoke a response from the human immune system. This makes it ideal for use in tissue scaffolds that support cells at the site of an injury and can assist the body in growing new, functional tissue. The compound can also be used in pills and wound dressings that are designed to deliver drugs to specific parts of the body.

The researchers developed a technique to recover the low value PVA contained in the LCD displays, and convert it into a structured, mesoporous material with high surface areas, known as 'expanded PVA' - which may have use in a wide range of biomedical applications.

Source: http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2009/medical-waste-lcd/

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