The 800 pound butter sculpture depicting both Benjamin Franklin and America’s Liberty Bell displayed at the Pennsylvania Farm Show next week will be recycled by Philadelphia-based Fry-o-Diesel, LLC, into cleaner-burning biodiesel.

Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel is actively seeking a site to build a commercial production facility in Philadelphia that will make biodiesel from restaurant grease that can be used in most oil burners and diesel engines without retrofit.

By creating a use for this waste product, Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel aims to increase business for grease collectors, reduce disposal costs for restaurants and allow municipalities to better enforce grease handling regulations.

The Department of Environmental Protection provided an Energy Harvest grant that partially funded Philadelphia Fry-o-Diesel’s pilot plant and, more recently, an Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant toward the development of a commercial production facility.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show runs from January 6 through 13.

Online Video: Agriculture Secretary Wolff Unveils Farm Show Butter Sculpture

1/5/2007