Waste from Minnesota State Fair tested in energy plant

September 2, 2010

The Minnesota State Fair, on until Labor Day, produces more than 3,000 tons of organic waste during its 12-day run, which could be used to generate energy (photo: Minnesota State Fair)
Researchers are investigating how waste from the annual Minnesota State Fair could be used to generate renewable energy.

St Paul-based Short Elliot Hendrickson (SEH) is working with University of Minnesota researchers and State Fair facilities staff to collect samples of food waste and manure to test as a feedstock for an anaerobic digestion system.

The 12-day event attracts more than 1.5 million visitors each year, and with hundreds of animals on site averages around 1,200 tons of food waste and 2,000 tons of animal manure each year.

Samples collected from the fair is being combined with waste from the University for treatment in a digester adjacent to the University campus.

George Johnson, a researcher at SEH, explained: “An anaerobic digester breaks down organic materials like food and animal waste. Methane gas created in the process can be used to fuel generators that produce electricity and heat for use at nearby facilities. Solids from the process are reused as animal bedding, compost, or fertilizer.”

Pilot

Depending on the research outcomes, the project could serve as a pilot for making use of waste produced at other events around Minnesota, and could lead to more small-scale systems put in place in thousands of farms across the country.

The Minnesota State Fair, held until Labor Day at a location close to the University campus in St Paul, already collects food waste and other organic material for composting.

A special informational display detailing the anaerobic digestion project is featured in the Fair’s Warner Coliseum.

State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said: “The State Fair has long been committed to green projects, from our educational displays such as the award-winning Eco Experience, to our massive recycling and composting programs.”

An informational display explaining the waste sampling project and anaerobic digester process is featured in the Warner Coliseum during the fair.

Add your comments

Jason
I’d like to see some evidence of the “massive recycling and composting program”, because I’m skeptical of the State Fair’s commitment in this regard. All consumer waste is dropped in garbage cans, with no sorting. Cans and bottles generally go right into the garbage, because recycling containers are rare.
Kelly
Like Jason, I am skeptical. Why does ice cream have to be served in plastic cups? Compostable, all-paper containers would work like a charm. Bathrooms could have “paper towels only” waste containers. Those ubiquitous State Fair styrofoam cups are breaking my heart–they used to have dedicated containers for collecting them, but not this year. It appears to me that the corn cobs are the only biomass fuel being actively collected. There is so much potential for turning the Minnesota State Fair into a zero-waste event.