Development of Dual Fuel (Diesel + CNG) Engine for Off-Road Application

The evolution of engine technology has so far seen the most beneficial side of progress in the fields of transportation, agriculture, and mobility. With the advent of innovation, there is also an impact on our environment that needs to be balanced. This is where fuels like CNG, LPG, LNG, etc. outperform conventional fossil fuels in terms of pollution & operational cost. This paper enlightens on the use of innovative dual-fuel technology where diesel & CNG fuels are used for combustion simultaneously inside the combustion chamber. Dual fuel system adaptation for farm application ensures self-reliance of the farmer where he can generate Bio-CNG to use the renewable fuel for farming making him less dependent on conventional fossil fuel thus promoting a green economy.

The dual-fuel system is adapted to the existing in-use diesel engine with minimum modifications. This makes it feasible to retrofit a CNG fuel system on an existing diesel engine to operate it on dual fuel mode. Major benefits of the dual-fuel system include better operational costs than pure diesel mode along with diesel replacements of around 40% without any change in the existing diesel fuel supply system with a substantial reduction in smoke and PM emissions. However, minor modifications in the exhaust after-treatment system are required to be made for compliance with NOx and NMHC emissions. The existing performance of the base diesel engine is retained in dual fuel mode with improvement in fuel economy. Thus, making this dual-fuel technology affordable especially for the Indian agriculture sector.