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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
- From packing peanuts to disposable coffee cups, each year the US alone produces some two billion pounds of Styrofoam -- none of which can be recycled. Frustrated by this waste of resources and landfill space, Ashton Cofer and his science fair teammates developed a heating treatment to break down used Styrofoam into something useful. Check out their original design, which won both the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award and the Scientific American Innovator Award from Google Science Fair.
Ashton Cofer gave this talk at TED-Ed Weekend, a student-focused conference featuring speakers and attendees from the TED-Ed Clubs program. To learn more about TED-Ed Clubs, go to ed.ted.com/clubs.
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My only concern is what this might put into the air. I think that this is an amazing first step, but we need to make sure that this won't do more harm than good, but fantastic work. :)
Who cares about the air you breathe , here in Russia air breathes you!
Maximus Xavier they can just use the activated carbon they just got to filter the air.
It's even self sustaining
you cant filter benzene, etc with activated carbon. you may be able to change the manufacturing process of styrofoam premptively to reduce or eliminate hazardous offgassing for styrofoam that will ultimately be recycled..
b k probably not practical to make cheap and safe Styrofoam in same factories that make them so cheap, though on recycle side you could likely capture condense the benzene , just not sure what else is in it. or what else to do with it once gotten. but at least there's thinking here, vs no thinking. its actually a complicated problem/niche product packaging, use something heavier like paper or urethane foam then you spend extra gas shipping it from china ..back to emissi. air won't hold up most fragile electronics etc
Well what if you were to dip it in gasoline? On the farm we would mix egg cartons witch gasoline and form a goo and then burn it. Im just thinking about what happens when the water filter needs changed, so does the filter get tossed into a landfill or is it good for a persons life span? If not, can be turn it into a slurry and burn it in a controlled environment and filter the burn off?
How impressive! I've wondered countless times about Styrofoam's recyling possibilities and here these young people have succeeded! A very Well Done is in order.
That kid is impressive! He and his partners are the kind of people that others should look up to.
Youthful optimism- as adults, we're all thinking about the harmful gases released by the styrofoam, but he might be bling to that problem- and thank goodness that he is, because you need a little foolishness and blindness to come up with solutions: I'm hopeful that the plant that is built to burn the styrofoa is built to treat the emissions before fumes are released into air.
I love this kids passion and drive . I to bashed my head up against the wall back it 2000 trying to get my polystyrene recycling idea out there. My idea was for businesses to reduce it on site in a 44 gallon drum of solvent. It would be collected once a week and taken back to the recycling plant and turned into road side poles. I got a team together, got a backer, and teamed up with company ( run by a world famous engineer, who I wont name ), and things were on their way. Alas... the man died and everything stopped. I decided to show people how to turn it into a decoupage gloss sealer and put it on youtube ( along with my clay coke bottle vase instructions). This was iback in January 2015. Here it is December 2018 and I've had approx. 200 views. So here I am again having another go at trying to show the world how they can safely recycle their own waste polystyrene into a free flowing paint and gloss using gum turpentine. For more info click on the logo.
far out
What a great speech this is!!
I was impressed very much. :)
清水航平 i would Say great for a kid in his age..
He's gonna change the weed growing industry before he's ever touched a joint, cool kid!
Kids these days...
Heh..for once you can utter that in a positive sense.
Not really, this is a cool consept but nor really possible in today's world.
and then you learn his father is a chemist with three PHDs
Random Schmid really?😂😂
The team members are:
Julia Bray, Luke Clay, Natalie Clay and Ashton Cofer
I could not find any info on Ashton, but, Luke and Natalie's father, John Clay has PHDs in chemical and biomolecular engineering and works at Battelle as a Chemical Engineer.
TBH this comment should have much more likes
No disrespect to the kid but with this information its hard not to believe that his dad did most of the actual work, I mean his dad has 3 PHDs he would know way more about chemistry and these designs that these kids,l.
His dad most likely gave them the scientific idea and the process and the kids probably just made the presentation, not saying it's bad but it feels kind of wrong and misleading making people think that the kids made this themselves
Seriously, this is one in a million Ted talks ... good job you little man.
But what are they going to do with all the emissions caused by burning the styrofoam?
it needs to be enclosed in a sealed package without air in order to change into activated carbon meaning very little gases. those emissions could in most likelyhood be filtered just like we do in a furnace right now when it goes to the dump.
By saving the world we save ourselves.
It could be contained - it wouldn't happen on a BBQ.
Styrofoam is starting to be replaced with bio-based alternatives.
Even with that being true, this could be a good solution to the Styrofoam that currently exists in landfills and beaches.
People have been able to recycle styrofoam/EPS for years now. The waste styrofoam gets put into a 'briquetter' then of to a facility where they pelletise it, then re process into new styrofoam products.
How wonderful it is to see greatness in our young people. I'm lucky to be a witness.
sad thing is production companies of these products already know this stuff they just don't care
It has to be separated in order to be recycled. Still LOTS of people not recycling their styrofoam. Styrofoam is still used way too often for take out food that doesn't need to be hot if it's just leftovers.
why would anyone dislike this video? .... even if you dont agree with what he is doing it admirable and amazing that such a young person is trying to do something ... bravo kids
really good work. hope to see more on this research.
this is freaking amazing.
It would literally make more sense to just burn styrofoam for the energy content than do all this elaborate crap to make a product the demand of which will be so so much lower than the supply of waste styrofoam. I mean styrofoam is basically plastic and plastic has the same energy content as oil so it was be burned easily for power production. Also I wouldnt want activated charcoal made from styrofoam which as he himself says is potentially contaminated with other things, when that charcoal will be near my drinking water. Also I very much doubt it'll be cheaper to make charcoal this way rather than just out of wood which is a renewable resource anyway.
This sounds very promising, but the fact that he did not go into any detail into how it is actually done makes me highly skeptical that this is actually a sustainable solution.
It’s his first speech and it’s clear that he tries to keep it entertaining. They probably thought that nobody would be interested, so they left the details out. Also, I think it’s also due to discretional reasons as companies who’d want to pick up on that way of recycling, wouldn’t everyone to know how it’s done, to enlarge their profit.
Not until he registers his patent! I would be stupid to go into details now. The fact that they won so many awards should reduce your unfounded skepticism unitl more facts are known.
got to the point. gave a solution. witty. not too long. good talk.
An excellent presentatiom and idea!! Bravo!
You didn't fail. A result is a result -- you just found several different ways how to not turn polystyrene into activated carbon. Good work, Ashton!
Brilliant I'm writing a research paper on this currently I can finally get some other sources and ideas
Huh, I was just looking through some of my old photos, and found some of my time at the national FLL competition in middle school. How appropriate.
Yason You Synchronicity
Who's watching with their eyes?
Who even does that?
I watch with my feet, actually. It's too loud when I listen with my eyes.
Finley Lfc so relatable
Is that you, Toph?
I AM A ROBOT. I HAVE NO EYES. INSTEAD I ANALYZED THE VIDEO FILE, WHICH HAD SOME INTERESTING BINARY PATTERNS.
why not to shred it or melt it, using glue and high pressure and reuse it as an insulation? (the bad color will be hidden under the facade)
love it. he is very smart. very educational.
Problem with Styrofoam is that without the air in it there is very litle material left. So let alone when you burn it, you will need alot fo material to make a healthy profit. And with the large scale transport that would become very hard. I'm not saying this is impossible to make it profitable thus giving it opportunity to get actually implemented. I'm just saying they still have a very long way to go.
Ashton, you have worked out how to turn styrofoam waste into activated carbon. When you're done using your activated carbon to filter water - what do you do with the spent activated carbon? I mean, activated carbon used to absorb hazardous substances may become hazardous due to the chemicals it has absorbed. How do you recycle that? It seems to me that you are trading one known hazard for another (or several others). Please tell me I am wrong.
Wow! A future leader, very impressed.
What a finisher, smart kid.
When there's a problem around the world and you have the solution design, patten it so no one can use it. Good job kid!
I will be interested in learning about the process of going from styrofoam to activated carbon. The first question that comes to my mind is whether the process is clean and how energy efficient it is. Plus, are there any by-products? If so, are they safe to the environment? Pretty cool to see kids being curious and insistent. Too bad the current American president does not care at all.
But does the styrofoam burning release any harmful gases into the air?
Buttttt.... how does it work!??!!?!? THAT'S what we want to know of course!
Am I the only one who thinks this kid sounds a bit like Homestar Runner? Anyway, this was some great initiative. Also, he has managed to become proficient at delivering a public speech at a rather young age... awesome!
Fantastic speech!
just Amazing idea...hope it's work for global level....
great one....keep it up....and make Better as possible.....🙌😇
He did amazing. Good job kid. I want to be like you when I grow up
My first impression is this: it may sound like a genius idea but if you know anything about chemistry you might surmise that the only way to make activated carbon from Styrofoam involves burning it. High temperatures under a vacuum. The good part: no smoke. The bad part: all the smoke that would have been is now gas. Lots and lots of greenhouse gases created. This process isn't new. It's been around for over 100 years. It works on almost anything that is made of carbon. From wood, to roadkill. Basically anything that is biological in origin. Including petroleum products. Truly, the only answer is to use far less Styrofoam. Anybody can burn waste and make. It look like an achievement to people who have no knowledge of chemistry
Really smart kids. Awesome idea too! I'm rooting for ya!
bunch of genius kids. proud of them. and these kids live in the same country as trump. a new hope.
What are the byproducts of the process, and what chemicals are needed?
curious what chemical process they use and what the efficiency n eco costs are.
Yes, that's what I was thinking.. The off-gassing of burning styrofoam can be toxic to say the least.. I would like to know if they were able to reduce or catalyze the off-gasses.
The process is made in an enclosed environment and the treatment it gets, produces little to no gases
Wow! What an inspiring lil chap!!
I don't know him, but he makes me proud
Ashton Coffer. Remember this name.
I'm very interested, but I would like to know what kind of fumes this would put in the environment on a greater scale.
I wonder what other by products are created from the reaction...
Little to none, as it’s made in an enclosed environment and the process creates very few gases.
if it's this simple, why wasn't it done before.. there should be lots of factors obviously.. well, he learnt success comes from failures.. good for him.
a lot of things were considered simple after they had been invented though
Maybe cuz everyone was looking at it in the wrong way. They we're trying to eliminate Styrofoam instead of recycle it. Plus there is Styrofoam recycling, it's just bad.
Is he related to Barry Kripky? Kidding. Good job kid!
Wow he is really good.
Good young speaker.
A very important subject.
Hope for humanity
I like this
Looks good on a future college application - nothing more.
one of the biggest concerns was still not addressed... how do you remove contaminants from plastic... there are reasons why plastic bottles we use for drinking are one time uses... we don't exactly recycle them back into more plastic drinking bottles. we don't know where that plastic has been. we can't get it clean enough... I wouldn't trust where the styrofoam came from... especially how susceptible styrofoam is in attracting everything... now take polluted styrofoam, turn it into activated carbons, send water through it. proceed to drink that water. Yeah I'll pass. smart kid, great idea, but not feasible.
might be better used to produce artificial sea-ice for the arctic. it would certainly increase the albedo...
I don't see why they don't just make the regular styrofoam illegal as packaging. Biodegradable peanuts have been around for many years. That is all I will use in business.
Barking dogs seldom bite
You only need heat and pressure to turn any polycarbon into lighter oils or gasses that can be refined or processed back into other products. It's not market competitive with today's petroleum prices, but it almost was a decade ago.
With some innovation, maybe utilizing waste heat or something, maybe it could be market viable.
I do have concerns about using burnt Styrofoam as a water filter, even trace amounts of toxins can accumulate over time.
Awesome kid though, I hope he sticks with it, I wish I had half his "can do" attitude.
Will there be a Google Science Fair this year?
have you put thought about close air filling system
I know Ashton
Im leaning more towards the superworm method
make this viral
this boy really did make me clap in the end... xD
Wait, no that can't be it. I want to help, how can I get involved? I'm going to be working in the public school system(9 in our area) and there's a big need for this in a school setting. Tons of styrofoam gets tossed in the trash at schools, I'd love to help divert that problem and send all styrofoam to somewhere else where your process can be performed. Don't leave me hanging, this is such a fantastic idea and I'd love to help any way I can.
But how is it economically feasible?
Faheem Rasheed ehm theres alot alot alot of tax money they chould use...
Good to see some interesting and enjoyable content on this channel. I hoped they continue posting educational and informative videos and stop posting biased opinionated talks with clear agendas.
How do I granulate the styrofoam?
burning Styrofoam is just bad for the environment, seriously why did any organization fund such a terrible idea
Good luck sounds like an amazing idea. Save the world!
Making light weight, better insulating concrete seems more practical to me.
excellent
Is 2018, where I can find the current status of this idea?
Marvelous 🤙👏
Can I adopt him? As my son he'll one day make me a lot of money and feelings of pride
wow way to go!!
and how do we recycle activated carbon?
congrats to these kids, our future.
Well done, congratulations!
this idea looks impressiive and i hope more parents ahve kids like him but one thing i am worried aout is that the process of coverting syrofoam into activated carbon is going to damage the environment more by releasing O2 emisios into the atmosphere and cause climate change
if something is impossible, find somebody who don't now that and he will do this.
wow !! how young is that kid ??
Haris Asif 14, he goes to my school
Science for the win.
This is really inspiring, especially since he seems to be my age (16), if not younger.
hows being old
sike nah
hope you have a good life mate with alot of prosperity
I went to school with Ashton, I did not know he would ever make it this far. Very impressive
burning Styrofoam is not gd for the air plus, fuel need money. (haha, im not sure if he is burning the Styrofoam
Styrofoam is made of hydrogen and carbon. If the kid manage to seperate the carbon from the hydrogen, what is done with the left over hydrogen.
turns out if you mix canadian syrup with styrofoam in the grill you get water filters.
nice
i pray they keep this going bc styrofoam is everywere
this is a good idea but cant we just burn the stuff. or at least us it for something else useful
And here I am... struggleing to get my damn bachelors degree an Im probably about 10 years older than this kid...
Shame their first priority after receiving funding is to patent the process. You'd think something that helps the world would be patent-free...
Patent is a popular word...
who would that much of water filters ,atta boy ??