Effect of adding oxygen to the intake air on a dual-fuel engine performance, emissions, and knock tendency

Dual-fuel gas-diesel engines present an environmentally attractive substitute for conventional diesel engines that operate with a finite resource petroleum fuel and emit large amount of harmful emissions. However, this engine configuration, in which the gaseous fuel is used as a primary fuel while the diesel fuel is used as an ignition source, suffers from lower thermal efficiency, slower burning rate, and higher CO (carbon monoxide) and HC (unburned hydrocarbon) emissions; particularly at part loads. Prolonged ignition delay and increased tendency to knock are other negative aspects of these engines.