Trash is cash: turning plant residues into valued product
Kevin Kung |
TEDxSwitzerFoundation
• November 2020
More than 4 billion tons/year of plant-based crop and forest residues (e.g. biomass) are being burned. Some of this burning contributes to catastrophic wildfires. And yet, almost all these burned residues would otherwise have intrinsic economic values for conversion into fuels or chemicals. In this talk, I explore the apparent paradox between biomass disposal and utilization. I highlight the newest efforts in turning trash into cash, which could make biomass residue conversion more attractive economically, at the same time reducing the environmental and economic damages of biomass burning.