Why Our Film Set Might Smell Like Onion Rings

We’ve been doing our best to follow ‘The Code,’ most recently researching the possibility of using biodiesel to run our on-set generators and possibly our vehicles (like those nifty Patagonia surfers). But it sure is trickier than we thought. First of all, biodiesel is made a few different ways: directly from vegetables (virgin oil), recycled from used restaurant grease (recycled oil), or from a combination of restaurant grease and rendered animal fat (yellow oil). Now, any diesel engine can run on biodiesel, however special modifications would be needed if we were to take it a step greener, by enabling our engines to run directly on the used (unfiltered) restaurant grease. Of course, these modifications are expensive (anywhere from $900-$2500), but the combined long-term benefits of saving money on fuel and relieving stress on the environment by recycling used restaurant grease may be well worth it. Those prices are for a professional kit, however for Jacks and Janes-of-all-trades out there, you can convert your own engine following some do-it-yourself videos we found. Heck, if these guys can do it, maybe we can too. Hmm. First we need access to diesel vehicles. More on that to come!


For more information on recycled biodiesel production in the area, check out Black Gold Biofuels and Tri-State Biodiesel.