Comprehensive Identification of Liquid Crystal MonomersBiphenyls, Cyanobiphenyls, Fluorinated Biphenyls, and their Analoguesin Waste LCD Panels and the First Estimate of their Global Release into the Environment

Our previous study demonstrated massive emissions of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) from liquid crystal display (LCD)-associated e-waste dismantling; however, the compositions, priority list, and inventory of LCMs in waste LCD panels remain unknown. Herein, we conducted the first comprehensive ident...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2021-09, Vol.55 (18), p.12424-12436
Main Authors: Liang, Xinxin, Xie, Ruiman, Zhu, Chunyou, Chen, Hui, Shen, Mingjie, Li, Quan, Du, Bibai, Luo, Dan, Zeng, Lixi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Composition
Contaminants in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments
Electronic waste
Fluorination
LCDs
Liquid crystal displays
Monomers
Panels
Television
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Our previous study demonstrated massive emissions of liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) from liquid crystal display (LCD)-associated e-waste dismantling; however, the compositions, priority list, and inventory of LCMs in waste LCD panels remain unknown. Herein, we conducted the first comprehensive identification covering a broader range of LCMs, including 21 biphenyls and analogues (BAs), 28 cyanobiphenyls and analogues (CBAs), and 44 fluorinated biphenyls and analogues (FBAs), in waste television/computer LCD panels. A total of 64 of the 93 target LCMs, including 19 BAs, 6 CBAs, and 39 FBAs, were widely detected in collected waste LCD panels. Approximately 10–18 of the 64 detectable LCMs were identified as the main compositions in various waste LCD panels, which contributed to >90% of the total LCMs. Total concentrations of FBAs in the television/computer LCD panel samples were comparable to those of BAs but much higher than those of CBAs, indicating FBAs and BAs being the commonly used LCM categories. The composition distribution of LCMs varied between television/computer LCDs and among different brands of television/computer LCDs. A preliminary estimate of the globally direct release of LCMs from waste television/computer LCD panels into various environmental compartments was about 1.07–107 kg/year, which will increase considerably in the near future.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.1c03901