German firm offers robots to undertake LCD screen recycling

Erdwich Zerkleinerungssysteme GmbH, Kaufering, Germany, says it has developed an automatic processing system for liquid crystal display (LCD) screens and monitors that enables mercury and other raw materials to be extracted and recycled in an automated and “environmentally friendly” way.

The company says its process uses robots to automatically dismantle monitors containing mercury at a rate to handle up to 45 monitors per hour.

Some 3 million LCD screens will be recycled in Germany alone in 2016, says the firm, and the screens contain desirable metals and plastics, along with the mercury.

Until now, the dismantling process has been too complex to be performed by machines and has been conducted manually, the company says. “It is necessary to remove up to 30 screws just to separate the two halves of the housing,” says Harald Erdwich, head of sales and marketing for Erdwich Zerkleinerungssysteme. “This dismantling procedure takes trained personnel from eight to 20 minutes, depending on the construction of the monitor and the type of background lighting,” he adds.

The Erdwich system can handle LCD panels of up to 55 inches in size, Erdwich Zerkleinerungssysteme says. “Previously, it was only possible to dismantle between four to seven monitors per hour by hand, but this system can handle up to 60 monitors per hour—with absolutely no health risks,” says Erdwich.

Erdwich Zerkleinerungssysteme GmbH was founded in 1972 by Johann Erdwich Sr. as a mechanical engineering and metal construction company. The company, which currently employs 35 people, has core business areas divided into the recovery and recycling of reusable materials, the destruction of all types of hazardous waste and the shredding of waste to reduce its volume.