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By Intratec Solutions
Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is an organic compound used mainly as a fuel additive to enhance octane rating. It has low cost, high octane value, and is easy to incorporate into fuel blends.
In the 1980s, the use of MTBE as a replacement to tetraethyl lead in gasoline was stimulated by governments looking to meet air-quality goals. Concerns over the safety of using MTBE arose in light of contaminations of surface and groundwater. In this context, gasoline manufacturers, particularly in the U.S., started replacing MTBE in fuel with safer alternatives, mainly ethanol and ETBE (ethyl tertiary-butyl ether), to comply with new environmental legislation. Currently, MTBE is still used as a gasoline additive outside the U.S., mainly in Middle East countries and in the Asia-Pacific region.
MTBE is produced via an etherification reaction between methanol and isobutylene in a liquid state. The major sources of isobutylene are the following: C4 raffinate-1 from naphtha steam-cracking units, the...