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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is working with Kentucky biodiesel producers to help them meet national standards and make the best possible product for consumers.
“The biodiesel industry has tremendous potential for providing new markets for farmers and jobs in processing plants for Kentucky communities,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “This industry is relatively new, and we are all – producers and regulators alike – still learning the best ways to produce the product and to evaluate it. We at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture are committed to helping this promising industry prosper while at the same time assuring that consumers get a high-quality product.”
The Department is required by state law to test motor fuels for quality as part of its role as a consumer protection and service agency. National standards are set by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) and are incorporated into state law. Those standards undergo an annual review by working groups and committees of the ASTM. Representatives of Kentucky’s biodiesel industry are involved in that process.
Biodiesel has become affordable as petroleum diesel has increased in price. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet used 49,668 gallons of biodiesel in October, more than double the amount of the previous month. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Mobile Science Activity Center uses biodiesel where it is available in its travels to schools across the Commonwealth.
Biodiesel is refined from organic products such as soybean oil or vegetable oil and blended with petroleum diesel at rates of 2 to 20 percent. No alterations are necessary for a diesel engine to use biodiesel fuel in those blends. Biodiesel is available at more than 80 locations in Kentucky, according to the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition.
Commissioner Farmer supports increasing the use of biofuels, including biodiesel and ethanol, in Kentucky as a way to help family farmers, protect the environment and reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign sources of energy.
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