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A dual fuel engine is an internal combustion engine where the primary gaseous fuel source is pre-mixed with air as it enters the combustion chamber. This homogenous air fuel mixture is ignited by a small quantity of diesel known as the ‘pilot’ that is injected towards the end of the compression stroke. The diesel fuel ignites in the same way as in compression ignition (CI) engines, and the gaseous fuel is consumed by flame propagation in a similar manner to spark ignited engines. The motivation to dual-fuel a CI engine is partly economic due to the lower cost of the primary fuel, and partly environmental as some emissions characteristics are improved. In the present study, a direct injection four cylinder CI engine, typically used in genset applications, was fuelled with three different gaseous fuels; methane, propane and butane.