Vacuum pyrolysis characteristics and kinetic analysis of liquid crystal from scrap liquid crystal display panels

Recycling of waste liquid crystal display (LCD) panels is an urgent task with the rapid expanding LCD market. However, as important composition of LCD panels, the treatment of liquid crystal is seldom concerned for its low concentration. In present study, a stripping product enriched liquid crystal and indium is gained by mechanical stripping process, in which liquid crystal is enriched from 0.3 wt.% to 53 wt.% and indium is enriched from 0.02 wt.% to 7.95 wt.%. For the stripping product, liquid crystal should be removed before indium recovery because (a) liquid crystal will hinder indium recycling; (b) liquid crystal is hazardous waste. Hence, an effective and green approach by vacuum pyrolysis is proposed to treat liquid crystal in the stripping product. The results are summarized as: (i) From the perspective of apparent activation energy, the advantages of vacuum pyrolysis is expounded according to kinetic analysis. (ii) 89.10 wt.% of liquid crystal is converted and the content of indium in residue reaches 14.18 wt.% under 773 K, 15 min and system pressure of 20 Pa. This study provides reliable information for further industrial application and an essential pretreatment for the next step of indium recycling.