Trash is Cash: Turning plant-based residue into valued products | Kevin Kung | TEDxSwitzerFoundation
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. Kevin Kung is currently the CTO of a biomass technology start-up Takachar, as well as a Cyclotron Road entrepreneurial fellow collaborating with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He earned his Ph.D. from MIT, focusing on biofuels and renewable energy, and specializes in biomass and energy conversion systems, engineering design in resource-constrained settings, and waste-sector innovation. In 2015, he co-founded Safi Organics, a biochar fertilizer company that has grown to be financially profitable today, serving more than 3,500 farmers. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx