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Originally Posted by Gianfranco
Is there some english version for this paper?
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Unfortunately I don't know.
Steve, under 4.1 they talk about the ecological effects of bistable paper, which includes E Ink. Note that the study is quite dated, but given it as the source, we can say that the production of E Ink displays is relatively simple (compared to LCD), and that it requires fewer resources. They also mention the "black oil" or ink used by the E Ink displays, which used to be filled with
titanium dioxide (=the white). That changed later; Wikipedia
has more on it. In table 4.1 they refer to the titanium dioxide as toxicological questionable, but remember, this was the first technology and I think is not used any longer. Energy usage is obvious a big plus (compared to traditional display technologies) - chart 4.1. And because only few resource material is required to produce e-paper displays, so the study, and because of little known toxicological material, they consider the recycling of e-paper a relatively harmless process. Problematic is perhaps the separation of the materials at the end, as they are all "glued" together in some way or the other. Another problem for recycling is the fusion of display and control electronics.
But overall, if you look at table 4.2, most arrows are pointing down, which is a good thing, because they indicate an advantage in comparison to traditional LCD technologies.
Under 4.2 the studies continues talking about the overall life cycle assessment of e-paper, comparing it to traditional p-newspapers and online news. Chart 4.2 shows the absolute required energy to deliver the news. Note that UMTS/3G as the mobile connectivity shows the least favorable energy usage. It's possible that the picture has improved by now as technology advances.