A dual-fuel engine may be defined as a compression-ignition engine using mainly gaseous fuel but with a small quantity of fuel oil injected as an ignition source; the engine can be changed over instantaneously and under load to operate on liquid fuel alone. The recent availability of natural gas in this country once again attracts the attention of engineers towards gas as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. This paper traces the development of dual-fuel engines, originally using sewage gas and more recently using natural gas, and considers their advantages, both technical and economic, compared with spark-ignited and diesel engines. The dual-fuel engines within the authors' experience are described. The critical factors in handling natural gas in its liquid form are considered, and the extended scope of dual-fuel engines and alternative fuel engines in mobile applications is briefly reviewed. Finally, the paper examines the future for dual-fuel engines and suggests directions in which further development is required.
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