MTBE

MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether) is a chemical compound that is manufactured by the chemical reaction of methanol and isobutylene. MTBE is produced in very large quantities (more than 200,000 barrels per day in the United States in 1999) and is almost exclusively used as a fuel component in motor gasoline. It is one of a group of chemicals commonly known as oxygenates because they raise the oxygen content of gasoline. At room temperature, MTBE is a volatile, flammable and colorless liquid that is relatively soluble in water. MTBE has a typical odor reminiscent of diethyl ether. MTBE is increasingly used in organic chemistry as a cheap solvent with properties comparable to diethyl ether but with a higher boiling point and lower solubility for water.

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MTBE has been used in U.S. gasoline at low levels since 1979 to replace tetra-ethyl lead as an octane enhancer and to help prevent engine knocking. Since 1992, MTBE has been used at higher concentrations in some gasoline to fulfill the oxygenate requirements set by Congress in Clean Air Act amendments.

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In 1995 high levels of MTBE were unexpectedly discovered in the water wells of Santa Monica, California. Subsequent tests found tens of thousands of contaminated sites across the country.

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Chemical: REDIRECT Chemical substance...

Chemical reaction: A chemical reaction is a process involving one, two or more substances (called reactants), characterized by a chemical change and yielding one or more product(s) which are different from the reactants. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that strictly involve the motion of electrons,...

Isobutylene: Isobutylene (or 2-methylpropene) is a hydrocarbon of significant industrial importance. It is a four-carbon branched alkene (olefin), one of the four isomers of butylene. At standard temperature and pressure it is a colorless flammable gas....