WASHINGTON, DC — A research team has found ways to reused materials in LCD televisions for anti-microbial compounds, which could take a polluting material and turn it into a sterilizing agent for hospital settings.

Andrew Hunt, a researcher at the University of York's Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence, and his team will present this week at the Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Washington their findings that can separate the films in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to recover polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) and put it to new uses.

PVA is a highly soluble and biocompatible compound that can be used in pills and drug delivery projects, as well as in conjunction with silver nanoparticles to create cleaning and sterilization solutions.

Finding a green -- or semi-green -- solution for e-waste from LCD displays is of growing importance, especially in the European Union, where they constitute the fastest-growing waste stream.

"The influence of LCDs on modern society is dramatic," Hunt said in a statement. "It is estimated that 2.5 billion LCDs are approaching the end of their life, which makes them the fastest growing waste in the European Union.This research has the potential to create beneficial products, yes, but in doing so we may change how we regard waste."

Hunt's university was chosen in 2006 to receive a grant to research ways to recycled LCD components; according to the announcement:

LCDs are a fixture of modern life, appearing in everything from pocket calculators and mobile telephones to wide-screen televisions.

 

But the liquid crystals they contain are potentially hazardous and technological advances are so rapid that society is already discarding millions of LCD screens each year. There are no viable recovery techniques and no fully safe disposal options.

Some 40 million LCD television sets were sold worldwide last year with expected sales likely to top 100 million by 2009.

_{Photo CC-licensed by Flickr user wZa HK.}