Substance Flow Analysis of Indium in Taiwan

Abstract

As indium is an economically important and a limited resource, a better understanding of domestic indium flow in each country is needed. In this study, fate and management of indium in Taiwan, particularly in the manufacturing of light-emitting diode (LED) and thin film transistor-LCD for the year 2011, was carried out using a substance flow analysis (SFA). It was found out that the total consumption of indium by these two products in 2011 was around 271 t-In; out of which, 266 t-In was imported. However, only 10% of this indium was found in the products, and therefore 90% was a potential indium waste. Among these wastes, 53% was treated and recovered outside Taiwan and 47% was domestically recovered. This indicates that the management and recovery technology of indium is of paramount importance in view of the security of indium supply and Taiwan environmental sustainable development.