Multifuel

Multifuel describes engines, boilers, heaters and other fuel burning devices designed to operate on more than one type of fuel. Militaries have long valued the flexibility, since enemy action or an isolated unit can cut off a normal fuel supply while making enemy or civilian fuel sources available instead, and the M1 Abrams tank and Russian vehicles such as the T-72 are built as multifuel designs. Civilian uses include residential heating systems that burn wood, pellets or other fuels, portable camping stoves, flexible fuel road vehicles that blend ethanol and gasoline, and modern ocean going ships equipped to burn marine diesel oil, liquefied natural gas, methanol or ammonia. Because a multifuel engine's compression ratio must suit the lowest octane fuel among its accepted alternatives, its structure typically needs reinforcement to handle the added demands.