Chelant-induced reclamation of indium from the spent liquid crystal display panels with the aid of microwave irradiation

Indium is a rare metal that is mostly consumed as indium tin oxide (ITO) in the fabrication process of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. The spent LCD panels, termed as LCD-waste hereafter, is an increasing contributor of electronic waste burden worldwide and can be an impending secondary source of indium. The present work reports a new technique for the reclamation of indium from the unground LCD-waste using aminopolycarboxylate chelants (APCs) as the solvent in a hyperbaric environment and at a high-temperature. Microwave irradiation was used to create the desired system conditions, and a substantial abstraction of indium (≥80%) from the LCD-waste with the APCs (EDTA or NTA) was attained in the acidic pH region (up to pH 5) at the…