How Plasma can fix our waste problem | Tom Whitton | TEDxMontreal

What happens to garbage after we throw it out? Are landfills and recycling our only options? Plasma, the 4th state of matter, is one of the ways that innovative minds have developed to maximize energy and material recovery from waste. Tom Whitton shows us how we can avoid sending value-rich waste to environmentally-unfriendly dead-end landfills and discusses the barriers preventing its adoption. As we emerge from COP21 and seek long term solutions, plasma is a viable option to help solve our growing waste management problems.
Tom Whitton - Chemical Engineer and former City Councillor
As the Sales Manager with Pyrogenesis Canada Inc., and as a member of the board of directors at Écotech Quebec, Tom Whitton is interested in ecological preservation and the environmental impacts of consumerism. Although recycling and modern practices of waste management have considerably reduced the quantities of rubbish we produce, the mid-to-long term impacts of the system currently in place reveal flaws that are highly detrimental to our health and life on this planet. In light of this fact, Tom Whitton offers direct, hands-on solutions that, in other spheres, have already proven their effectiveness.
Mr. Whitton holds a degree in chemical engineering from McGill University and has worked in technology development for nearly 25 years. Mr. Whitton was also a city councillor in Deux-Montagnes.
For more information, visit tedxmontreal.com/en/
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

Пікірлер: 119

  • @marihawley
    @marihawley4 жыл бұрын

    My dad is an engineer that worked with plasma lasers for a good part of his career. Plus he keeps telling me don't worry about landfills, they'll be mined in the future. This is those two ideas combined. I've been casually researching plasma waste gasification for years and don't see why it isn't catching on.

  • @vishnuprasadreddyeng

    @vishnuprasadreddyeng

    4 жыл бұрын

    I believe no one is seriousy working on it.

  • @GeaVox

    @GeaVox

    4 жыл бұрын

    Possibly not profitable.

  • @nathanbelcher5888

    @nathanbelcher5888

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@vishnuprasadreddyeng They are. Pyrogenesis on US Aircraft carriers for quite some time. Plus a bundle of other plasma based innovations.

  • @speciousexchange4283

    @speciousexchange4283

    Жыл бұрын

    Iowa state uni does the latest R&D but we need private individuals to do it with financial incentives to get it to take off

  • @yamahapilot

    @yamahapilot

    4 ай бұрын

    @GurpreetSingh-fw8wh Has your opinion changed on Pyrogenesis? This plasma technology seems quite interesting.

  • @lilBabyBornInCalifornia
    @lilBabyBornInCalifornia5 жыл бұрын

    why isnt this video more popular?

  • @user-rx5qw9un5u

    @user-rx5qw9un5u

    4 жыл бұрын

    It`s time to shout of loud all around the world. Need to show it on TV enstead of advertasing every hour.

  • @GTASUITES

    @GTASUITES

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not exciting title and no click bait. Gotta use the same marketing tactics as selling lies as selling truths, otherwise they go unnoticed

  • @andrew3524
    @andrew35243 жыл бұрын

    Canadian company named PyroGenesis is doing this now. PYR.V on stock market

  • @Diana-uo9fx

    @Diana-uo9fx

    3 жыл бұрын

    just invested in them for the long term following Cathie Wood and my interest in ethical renewable energy

  • @fno8205
    @fno82053 жыл бұрын

    tech has been around for decades. a guy built a decent sized one in early 90's. totally sealed, spectrometer, etc... introduced it to congress in america when first bush was in office. never got traction. he introduced it to canada, i think ontario if i remember correctly, and canada was supposed to have started developing/incorporating the technology. never heard any more on it 'til recently. we need a big push for this globally. glad this guy is talking about it.

  • @life42theuniverse
    @life42theuniverse7 жыл бұрын

    What a weird coincidence I was just pondering waste burning with plasmas and up pops a video that is about exactly that...

  • @klaytonpeterson
    @klaytonpeterson Жыл бұрын

    Excellent presentation...Thank you so very much

  • @Mango_B
    @Mango_B2 жыл бұрын

    Just watched this, more than 5 years later. So where are we now with plasma? Also, if we use the product in roads, then what happens to the material once that road is repaved? Is it able to be recycled as well?

  • @aywitb911

    @aywitb911

    9 ай бұрын

    I would say throw it back into the plasma and start all over again..

  • @narsing
    @narsing4 жыл бұрын

    just amazing technology to be used

  • @monkfishkilla
    @monkfishkilla3 жыл бұрын

    Very excellent presentation

  • @kirankumarpotnuru.3074
    @kirankumarpotnuru.30745 жыл бұрын

    Great idea!!!

  • @communitypower7655

    @communitypower7655

    5 жыл бұрын

    It is, but it's some way off being commercially viable at the moment, we have a better solution, coming to the UK in 2019 and taken worldwide by 2025.

  • @DanAlvard
    @DanAlvard Жыл бұрын

    Great learning material for Waste Management. Illuminating and educational.. Thank you, @Tom Whitton Over the years, fast forward to the present of 2022, how's plasma technology has improved and used in waste management?

  • @leomharl68manuba18
    @leomharl68manuba183 жыл бұрын

    This video made me discover Pyrogenesis Canada

  • @duggydugg3937
    @duggydugg39374 жыл бұрын

    how costly is it to create plasma per cubic meter of waste on average ?

  • @kevinruiz6582
    @kevinruiz65828 жыл бұрын

    interesting

  • @henrydehaan1237
    @henrydehaan12372 жыл бұрын

    so plasma waist desposal is more costly but as mentioned there is a by product wich can be used for roads and construction what does that then deliver in terms of money , why not charge some for this by product . this surely must grow bigger for it is so much better then what we are doing now .

  • @RayHorn5128088056
    @RayHorn51280880566 жыл бұрын

    Money is the reason why man will court extinction, more than any other reason.

  • @lorenawolfman9333

    @lorenawolfman9333

    4 жыл бұрын

    Money and attachment to habit...

  • @anonymousunknown6770
    @anonymousunknown67703 жыл бұрын

    Oh, the barriers. Didnt see that.☹️

  • @CityofLondon_GreatGame
    @CityofLondon_GreatGame3 жыл бұрын

    Plasco Energy Group Inc!

  • @altond511
    @altond5113 жыл бұрын

    NIMBY people don`t want plasma plants in their back yard? Would they rather have a landfill there?

  • @CityofLondon_GreatGame
    @CityofLondon_GreatGame3 жыл бұрын

    Plasma can make recycling OBSOLETE and INSANE!

  • @whitenight941
    @whitenight9415 жыл бұрын

    Wow: you just invented the flux capacitor !

  • @davidwillard7334

    @davidwillard7334

    3 жыл бұрын

    Plasma to the Future

  • @CityofLondon_GreatGame
    @CityofLondon_GreatGame3 жыл бұрын

    Pyrogenesis Canada!

  • @neogovernment
    @neogovernment6 жыл бұрын

    He does not talk much about the cost of running a plasma incinerator - which is why it is not being done

  • @jeffhimmin162

    @jeffhimmin162

    6 жыл бұрын

    its being done, but i dont think it will be used on a large scale until an energy solution is reached first. like what exactly is generating the power for the plasma torch?

  • @tlowry6338

    @tlowry6338

    5 жыл бұрын

    its generates energy for itself through syngas with a 30% surplus witch can be sold back to the grid

  • @lordbrennanofsealand5772
    @lordbrennanofsealand57724 ай бұрын

    Shepperton eco park, UK. Read about that saga.

  • @sicilianotoronto
    @sicilianotoronto4 жыл бұрын

    What about clean incineration?

  • @anonymousunknown6770
    @anonymousunknown67703 жыл бұрын

    Why aren't we doing this? WHY

  • @shahabdmc7928

    @shahabdmc7928

    3 жыл бұрын

    UNKNOWN UPFRONT COST OF THE INDUSTRIAL SCALE PLASMA WASTE TREATMENT PLANTS YET TO BE DEVELOPED

  • @ilonamagdalena9259
    @ilonamagdalena9259 Жыл бұрын

    Hi, I read a lot about plasma gasification process, watch the videos but I can’t find a single serious company offering this solution on a smaller scale, so 20-25 tpd. Can you recommend a provider to me? Thanks!

  • @kitimbomercy1352

    @kitimbomercy1352

    Жыл бұрын

    looking for the small. would love to start small scale

  • @SATYESHUSHARMA
    @SATYESHUSHARMA5 жыл бұрын

    5:59

  • @distributosranang5393
    @distributosranang53935 жыл бұрын

    Don't produce so much waist if you cannot clean-up after your self earth doesn't need humans will continue to be here long after we are gone. I stand after this plasma gassification solution no matter the cost.

  • @MrSvenovitch

    @MrSvenovitch

    5 жыл бұрын

    what if the cost is chopping off a body part?

  • @ianthespaceguy
    @ianthespaceguy7 жыл бұрын

    Nice idea, however, slight problem plasma emits gasses can you be sure that different materials being ripped apart and superheated wont emit gasses that are harmful? Also, this is just an illusion of choice first you talk about how it's more expensive then you beg the audience to force your government to force everyone else to accept your way. Why don't YOU create a business a successful business that demonstrates what you propose then others would follow but forcing others to follow is a sure fire way for people to rebel.

  • @dmonk952

    @dmonk952

    7 жыл бұрын

    ummm look at Tees Valley in England using a similar system , Alter NRG www.alternrg.com/waste_to_energy/projects/

  • @0Quakeman0

    @0Quakeman0

    7 жыл бұрын

    ianthespaceguy It makes syn gas which is elemental gases that can be sorted by a cyclotron. The plasma breaks chemical bonds so only separate elements are left over, no toxic molecules since they require chemical bonding.

  • @landonbennett1713

    @landonbennett1713

    5 жыл бұрын

    This needs to be a billionaires side business.

  • @SuperMrBentley
    @SuperMrBentley5 жыл бұрын

    the technology to solve most problems already exists

  • @MrSvenovitch

    @MrSvenovitch

    5 жыл бұрын

    solutions have always brought more problems

  • @aeonmouse5802
    @aeonmouse58026 жыл бұрын

    Startech is the pioneer of this technology, and have been listed in small caps since before 2002

  • @sabenashaikh882

    @sabenashaikh882

    4 жыл бұрын

    Dr. Variations hashmi

  • @DerpyRedneck
    @DerpyRedneck7 жыл бұрын

    Also if you think about this, it would throw EPA on its ass at the same time because of how clean it is in both theory AND practice.

  • @ronlabe5487
    @ronlabe54874 жыл бұрын

    I'm confused... you build the plasma processing plant with either tax dollars or heavy tax subsidies... and then you can use the plant over and over to process tons and tons of waste. The process can produce a large amount of the energy it consumes. The process produces materials that can be sold to refineries to make raw materials to sell back in the economy. But, it still costs more than 2x as much as burying it in the ground?

  • @ernstborse1278

    @ernstborse1278

    2 жыл бұрын

    We have no landfills in Holland. From my house in Amsterdam I can see the household incineration installation with its white plumes of water damp. When it was built some 15 years ago it was the biggest in the world. It provides the energy for all electric tramways in the city and more. Plastic is filtered before the furnace, metals are recovered after the furnace. It is no plasma heat, but only a few hundred degrees Celsius and it is quite efficient. We have an even more modern system like that in Rotterdam since five years.

  • @duramax4life720
    @duramax4life7204 жыл бұрын

    "What am i talkin a boot?"

  • @KWizard__

    @KWizard__

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hoosehold waste.

  • @GlennSwart
    @GlennSwart3 жыл бұрын

    Look up SAFIRE project

  • @yousoufmoco2123
    @yousoufmoco21232 ай бұрын

    The moon is best to mine minerals. A boost to space industry😂

  • @DerpyRedneck
    @DerpyRedneck7 жыл бұрын

    Capitalize from this, make gasifier generator units that recirculate exhaust gases from the engines to the gasifiers and then see how long generators last on this, finally recycle all the possible usable minerals from the leftover slag made by the process. Also consider adding some form of atmospheric electricity collector to power the plasma arc in the gasifiers or something that can collect energy day and night that's renewable. Make a business out of it, it could create jobs which would lead to stimulating economic growth and cheapen electrical power while eliminating a global warming threat all in one without involving the cap and trade bullshit os subsidies.

  • @Crispy2012A

    @Crispy2012A

    6 жыл бұрын

    Pyrogenesis in Montreal is already doing it....been designing them for more than a decade now.

  • @t.ziegler

    @t.ziegler

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Crispy2012A And japan too since the early 2000s in Utashinai.

  • @DerpyRedneck

    @DerpyRedneck

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Crispy2012A They ain't doing that here in Corporate Semi-Soycialist Murica....

  • @elye3701
    @elye37017 жыл бұрын

    It is an old idea of mine: why not dump our garbage into an active volcano?

  • @pandukawb

    @pandukawb

    7 жыл бұрын

    wow!!! I never thought of that. But it is difficult to find active volcanoes

  • @elye3701

    @elye3701

    7 жыл бұрын

    Hawaii? Indonesia?

  • @elyas2208

    @elyas2208

    7 жыл бұрын

    Or put it on a rocket and dump it in space

  • @elye3701

    @elye3701

    7 жыл бұрын

    The cost to launch megatonnage into space is ginormous{have you checked how much it would cost you to be a space tourist and I am pretty sure you do not weigh more than 200kg?} not to mention that it will soon endanger even the GPS satellites and then how will you find your way home? Plus rocket exhausts inject tons of dangerous chemical exhausts directly into all layers of the atmosphere. On the plus side the layer of garbage will shield the earth so that Anthropogenic Global Warming will end up as Anthropogenic Global Cooling. The bonus is that Aliens will no longer want to visit us and damage our crops and mutilate our cattle.

  • @elye3701

    @elye3701

    7 жыл бұрын

    If it were so, why didn't the ISS just expel their garbage into space instead of loading it into the space shuttle{and now the Russian supply capsules} to be brought back to earth? The cost to launch megatonnage into space is ginormous{have you checked how much it would cost you to be a space tourist and I am pretty sure you do not weigh more than 200kg?} not to mention that it will soon endanger even the GPS satellites and then how will you find your way home? Plus rocket exhausts inject tons of dangerous chemical exhausts directly into all layers of the atmosphere. On the plus side the layer of garbage will shield the earth so that Anthropogenic Global Warming will end up as Anthropogenic Global Cooling. The bonus is that Aliens will no longer want to visit us and damage our crops and mutilate our cattle.

  • @e.jsmith3279
    @e.jsmith32792 жыл бұрын

    Plasma is the resolution plasma will conquer plasma will prosper plasma will renew earth soil, green plant hills and organic materials.

  • @Volkyno
    @Volkyno3 жыл бұрын

    If plasma is so potent in destroying our waste it means is the key to a green future. Then why dont you destroy nuclear waste with plasma?

  • @luckymeyer1014
    @luckymeyer10146 жыл бұрын

    He forgot gel , so there are 5 for now.

  • @anneweddle6154
    @anneweddle61547 жыл бұрын

    You only figured the costs, now subtract the results,, like that road building slag. Or the metal removed from the Plasma hopper, or of the electricity used to run the plasma hop-per, how much of the leftover electricity, is paid to the Plasma waste recovery company.

  • @distributosranang5393

    @distributosranang5393

    5 жыл бұрын

    waist taxation pays for your consumable's and you win not having an landfill which you will have to clean-up eventually also you get 30% exces energy to sell back to the grid(syn-gas),an glas like building material and metal. I think it will pay for it self on the long run.

  • @ricardobautista-garcia8492

    @ricardobautista-garcia8492

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@distributosranang5393 even if it does not, it is better than the long term costs of landfills. Imagine all the real estate that can be done for commercial development instead of landfills?

  • @GenesisReveal
    @GenesisReveal2 жыл бұрын

    So in other words, we can go ahead and throw a toaster into the bathtub?

  • @eXtremeDR
    @eXtremeDR6 жыл бұрын

    A tree can transform matter and assemble atoms without heat or pressure. Should be much easier than mimic a whole star.

  • @yeetman4953

    @yeetman4953

    6 жыл бұрын

    eXtremeDR wot

  • @capslock793

    @capslock793

    5 жыл бұрын

    Go do it then, genius

  • @drakekoefoed1642
    @drakekoefoed16425 жыл бұрын

    not getting to the point. needs major editing for brevity

  • @estebanvelasco5910

    @estebanvelasco5910

    3 жыл бұрын

    Maybe you need to practice your Attention and Research skills, ia very difficult to expose that amount of information in such a short amount of time, it's ted talk, not a Scientist convention.

  • @CC-jy4gr
    @CC-jy4gr5 жыл бұрын

    "plasma"

  • @fracszosa7633
    @fracszosa76334 жыл бұрын

    i'm fracs

  • @dastyjoels3172
    @dastyjoels31723 жыл бұрын

    Too much information on the idea. Little is shed about the cost involved to set up the entire plant. How much power will be needed to give life to the entire process?

  • @michaelmurray2833
    @michaelmurray28334 жыл бұрын

    'Not in my backyard'?? better a processing plant than a landfill, in any location it is. I don't see this as a reason.

  • @allanwest777
    @allanwest7772 жыл бұрын

    Recycling does not work we consume faster than we recycle. We need to change our life habits, eat what is in season, eat local and most overall grow your own food and recycle kitchen waste into your garden. Buy cloths that are organic and not artificial products like plastics. container for food or drinking; need to be long lasting stainless steel or glass. hopefully were you live is walking distance to the store or use your bike. We need to reduce the strain that we are causing on the eco system.

  • @IamPaste
    @IamPaste4 жыл бұрын

    Just put a plant in Beverly Hills.

  • @jonascarrillo8699
    @jonascarrillo86992 жыл бұрын

    This doesn´t solve the problem. It just gives a thing to do with all the materias we dump everywhere. But how will you collect it dude, how will you educate people to properly dispose it after use?. Most inportantly how is it that you are not doing that already with or without your "new" plasma technology?

  • @ernstborse1278

    @ernstborse1278

    2 жыл бұрын

    In Holland, where I live, and in France, where I worked, there is a huge factory to split paper, glass, metals, plastic, green. In short: it is more in Mora automated, green dead to basic particles and then with light sensitive sensors and puff blowers all selected. At the end you have one container full of iron, a second with alum, 3 copper, 4 white glass, 5 colored glass, 6 recyclable plastics, 7 unrecyclable plastics, 8 wood, 9 green to compost and make Methane gas for energy.

  • @CC-jy4gr
    @CC-jy4gr5 жыл бұрын

    Watching well I drink my big gulp and down some nachoess

  • @westkomer5570
    @westkomer55705 жыл бұрын

    We dont recycle we ship it to 3rd world countries to deal with.

  • @stevenknightk9569
    @stevenknightk95693 жыл бұрын

    These speeches are 40 years late landfills have Come along way since then they are much safer than what they’re saying they are

  • @gentenderness
    @gentenderness5 жыл бұрын

    Just very expensive way to burn waste to produce green house gas.

  • @georgegalamb7523
    @georgegalamb75237 жыл бұрын

    I wanted to make an intelligent comment here, but the truth is that no one really cares about my opinions. But, what a heck, I still made this simple little comment here, and I want to remind everyone, that I might delate this at any time without further notice. So read it while you still have a chance!

  • @MrSvenovitch

    @MrSvenovitch

    5 жыл бұрын

    go on and 'delate' it pls

  • @enzorocha2977
    @enzorocha29774 жыл бұрын

    Speaker is either nervous or fresh at public speaking. This would be a snoozefest if not for the interesting subject matter. He sounds like he's reading off an essay written by someone else.

  • @leesalexander
    @leesalexander4 жыл бұрын

    Really important information. Really boring speaker. Boo...!