Byproduct

Art installation at the Fulton Brewing Taproom sheds light on MnDRIVE sponsored sustainable wastewater treatment research.

Byproduct, a new site-specific installation by artist Aaron Dysart, opens at the Fulton Brewery Taproom on September 23 and runs through October 23, 2021. Byproduct will carbonate the façade of the taproom with shifting colors generated from an enormous mirror ball. The colors display data from a sustainable wastewater research project conducted by Paige Novak and her team at the University of Minnesota.

We often overlook the carbon dioxide bubbles drifting up the sides of a pint glass gathering to head. On the one hand, they are just a byproduct of a yeast cell. On the other hand, they are a refreshing grounding in the present moment— and the beer just doesn’t taste right without them. In Byproduct, Dysart uses this visual language of carbonation to speak to innovative research underway at Fulton’s brewery. The installation, which displays some of the team’s data as colorful ‘bubbles’ on the taproom facade, celebrates the continuing push to make the world a better place.

Manufacturing creates waste, and brewing beer is no different. Not only does brewing generate a high volume of wastewater, but this wastewater is also full of carbon-containing compounds that require a lot of energy to treat using standard technology. However, other treatment options operate differently, using bacteria to make energy instead of using energy during wastewater treatment.  

Novak and her team are working on a treatment technology for small to mid-size industries that generates energy (in the form of methane gas) and removes carbon-containing compounds. The collaboration with Dysart allowed the team to share their research with the public as they test their scalable process that treats wastewater onsite while making energy for use at the brewery.

Dysart’s installation presents two colorful light shows comparing the two treatment methods set up side-by-side, treating wastewater at the Fulton Brewery. The first compares the amount of usable energy produced by the Novak lab’s experimental technology with the existing system, which works well but is high-maintenance, energy-intensive, and expensive to use. The second explores the reduction of carbon-containing waste compounds realized through the pilot at Fulton’s brewery. 


 

Aaron Dysart is a sculptor who is interested in using visual language and spectacle to give hidden stories a broader audience. His environmental interventions showcase his love of light shows, fog machines, and data, while his objects showcase his love of a material’s ability to carry content. He has received awards from Franconia Sculpture Park, Forecast Public Art, The Knight Foundation, and The Minnesota State Arts Board, and his work has been in Art in America Magazine, Hyperallergic, Berlin Art Link, and other publications. He has shown nationally and partnered with local and national organizations including the National Park Service, Army Corp of Engineers, NorthernLights.mn, and Mississippi Park Connection. Aaron is currently a City Artist through Public Art Saint Paul. He is embedded in the city of St. Paul, and operates his studio in northeast Minneapolis.

Paige Novak is a professor and the Joseph T. and Rose S. Ling Chair in Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Among other projects, Novak and her team are working on the development of a new type of treatment technology that relies on the encapsulation of bacteria into small, gel-like beads that can be easily deployed and retained—perfect for use at small industries such as craft breweries. This technology treats the waste, and in the process, generates energy in the form of methane gas that can be used on-site. For Dysart and Novak’s collaborative project, funded by the MnDRIVE: Environment Initiative at the University of Minnesota, Novak deployed a small pilot-scale system using these encapsulated bacteria at the Fulton brewery to treat their wastewater in real time, comparing it to a much more operationally and energy-intensive treatment technology. 

Bill Arnold and Natasha Wright were collaborators in the research. Kuang Zhu, Siming Chen, and Olutooni Ajayi also worked on the project

Byproduct is funded by a McKnight Project Grant through Forecast Public Art, and a MnDRIVE: Environment Demonstration Grant through the University of Minnesota.

Photo: Aaron Dysaart © 2021

 

 

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