What is MTBE and Why we should be Concerned !! MTBE stands for Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether. In 1990 congress passed the Clean Air Act to reduce smog in cities that were listed as ozone non-attainment area. Congress mandated Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) as part of the act. Congress mandated as part of it formula, a 2% by weight oxygenate to be added to RFG to reduce hydrocarbon SMOG pollutants from automobile exhaust emissions. MTBE is a chemical, which promotes more complete combustion by adding oxygen to gasoline. This increases the temperature at which gasoline burns in the engine and reduces the amount of harmful vehicle exhaust emissions, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons. MTBE is manufactured by combining isobutylene (a waste product in the gasoline refining process) and methanol (produced from natural gas). It is a colorless flammable liquid at room temperature with turpentine like color. MTBE evaporates quickly from surface water, soil or open containers. MTBE is not expected to persist in the atmosphere because of its rapid reaction with hydroxyl radicals and its degradation by sunlight. However, it may also contribute to the formation of photochemical smog when it reacts with other volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. Once in the air, MTBE can mix with precipitation that can eventually carry MTBE to groundwater or surface water. MTBE is highly soluble in water and very mobile in the subsurface. It enters groundwater quickly because it does not bind well with soil and persists due to a lack of anaerobic or aerobic biodegradation. Water supplies view MTBE as the most menacing ingredient of gasoline leaked from underground fuel storage tanks. That’s because it travels faster in water underground and is longer lived. And water treatment plants aren’t equipped to remove the contaminant, which imparts an unpalatable solvent like taste and odor in drink...
