To manage risk or to implement natural attenuation as a remedy, regulatory agencies must understand the processes that attenuate methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in ground water. Most case studies and laboratory studies in the literature indicate that natural biodegradation is not important; however, recent reports indicate that natural biodegradation of MTBE plays an important role under certain...

The potential for aerobic methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) degradation was investigated with microcosms containing aquifer sediment and groundwater from four MTBE-contaminated sites characterized by oxygen-limited in situ conditions. MTBE depletion was observed for sediments from two sites (e.g., 4.5 mg/liter degraded in 15 days after a 4-day lag period), whereas no consumption of MTBE was observ...

Methyl tert-butyl ether ~MTBE! biodegradation was investigated using a continuously stirred tank reactor with biomass retention ~porous pot reactor! operated under aerobic conditions. MTBE was fed to the reactor at an influent concentration of 150 mg/L ~1.70 mM!. An identical reactor was operated as a killed control under the same conditions. Operation of these reactors demonstrated that remova...

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been used in many countries as an octaneenhancing replacement for lead, primarily in midand high-grade gasoline. The prevalent use of MTBE has led to its introduction into environment. MTBE is poorly adsorbed, biologically and chemically stable, making it very persistent in the environment. MTBE has been classified as a possible human carcinogen. Many studies ...

The goal of this case study is to examine how foresight, embodied in the precautionary principle, can lead to robust and flexible decisions that meet the needs of the present, but that can be adapted to meet the changing needs of the future. Recently there has been much debate over the use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in petrol. Concerns in particular over the potential for contamination o...

Methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a commonly used gasoline additive. Leaking underground storage tank systems, spills, and pipeline failures are the causes of reported groundwater contamination with MTBE. The impact of vegetation on MTBE plume transport in groundwater and volatilization was experimentally examined. The experimental system consists of six channels, five of which are planted with...

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was originally introduced as an additive to increase octane number into gasoline in the 1970s. Its use was primarily as an octane enhancer to replace lead in gasoline. Later on, it was also used as an oxygenate, up to 15% v/v, to accomplish a cleaner burning fuel with reduced emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. The problem with MTBE is that it has cause...

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a ground water contaminant with plausible carcinogenic properties. Mycobacterium sp. strain ENV421 cometabolically degrades MTBE and other ethers during the growth on propane as a carbon source. In this study, the 6.2 Mb genome of strain ENV421 was deciphered. The genome sequence revealed the presence of numerous putative propane catabolic genes including genes...

A methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) / tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) plume originating from a gasoline spill in late 1994 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) persisted for over 15 years within 200 feet of the original spill source. The plume persisted until 2010 despite excavation of the tanks and piping within months after the spill and excavations of additional contaminated sediments from the source a...

Co-metabolic bioremediation is supposed to be an impressive and promising approach in the elimination technology of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), which was found to be a common pollutant worldwide in the ground or underground water in recent years. In this paper, bacterial strain DZ13 (which can co-metabolically degrade MTBE) was isolated and named as Pseudomonas sp. DZ13 based on the result ...