Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) (CAS No. 1634-04-4) is a volatile organic compound used almost exclusively as an oxygenate in unleaded gasoline to improve combustion efficiency. In the past it also had limited use as a therapeutic drug for dissolving cholesterol gallbladder stones. Currently, MTBE is added at 11% by volume to almost all of the gasoline used in California, although on March 2...

Concerns for atmospheric pollution from auto exhaust have led to the blending of "oxygenates" with motor fuels. The most common oxygenate, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is currently required within several metropolitan areas (Denver and Phoenix) in the range of 12% of the motor fuel. Amendments to the Clean Air Act may expand this requirement to as many as 44 other areas of the United States i...

Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1 is a methylotroph distinguished by its ability to completely metabolize the fuel oxygenate methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Strain PM1 also degrades aromatic (benzene, toluene, and xylene) and straight-chain (C(5) to C(12)) hydrocarbons present in petroleum products. Whole-genome analysis of PM1 revealed an approximately 4-Mb circular chromosome and an approximatel...

mtbe (methyl tertiary-butyl ether) is an oxygenated organic matter which is widely used nowadays in some countries in unleaded gasoline. mtbe is a toxic substance which is absorbed quickly on water and soil and is one of the most important pollutants in soils and groundwater resources. in order to remove mtbe from the soil, using different experimental methods, determining reliable methods for ...

Currently, there are over 62,000 petroleum-contaminated sites undergoing remediation in the United States. Understanding attenuation rates for dissolved contaminant concentrations and factors that influence these is important to effectively manage move them towards closure. The GeoTracker California Department of Public Health databases provide more than 15 years groundwater monitoring results ...

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) was measured in air samples collected at hourly intervals near Blodgett Forest Research Station on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, California, in July 1997, October 1998, and June through September 1999. Mixing ratios ranged from below the detection limit (< approximately 0.01 ppbv) to 0.5 ppbv, but were generally less than 0.3 ppbv. At these mixing ra...

The filamentous fungus Graphium sp. (ATCC 58400) grows on gaseous n-alkanes and diethyl ether. n-Alkane-grown mycelia of this strain also cometabolically oxidize the gasoline oxygenate methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). In this study, we characterized the ability of this fungus to metabolize and cometabolize a range of cyclic ethers, including tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 1,4-dioxane (14D). This stra...

Tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) is commonly found as an impurity in methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) added to gasoline. Frequent observations of high TBA, and especially rising TBA/MTBE concentration ratios, in groundwater at gasoline spill sites are generally attributed to microbial conversion of MTBE to TBA. Typically overlooked is the role of volatilization in the attenuation of these chemica...