Two pure bacterial strains capable of rapid degrading methyl tert–butyl ether (MTBE) were isolated from an industrial wastewater treatment plant, identified and characterized. These strains are able to grow on MTBE as the sole carbon and energy sources and completely mineralize it to the biomass and carbon dioxide. The strains were identified as Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella terrigena. Bot...

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a high-octane blending agent for motor gasoline, is produced by reacting directly tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) with methanol using Amberlyst 15 ion-exchange resin, which acts as both catalyst and adsorbent. Experiments were carried out in a fixed-bed reactor in the temperature range 318–328 K using rectangular pulse input and measuring the elution profiles of TBA, MT...

This protocol describes the analysis, specifically the identification, of blood plasma lipids. Plasma lipids are extracted using methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), methanol, and water followed by separation and data acquisition of isolated lipids using reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RPLC-QTOFMS) operated in MS/MS mode. For lipid identif...

Abstract Groundwater remediation and no‐further action decision making at petroleum underground storage tank (UST) sites has largely been based on an understanding of plume length, stability, attenuation rates for key hydrocarbon constituents. Regulatory guidance to support guide such decisions is in part studies involving individual constituents, namely benzene methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE). ...

The feasibility of phytoremediation of groundwater contamination with methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was examined experimentally using a six-channel soil system with or without plants. Two bacterial strains capable of degrading MTBE were each added to two out of six channels. A solution of 0.84 mM MTBE was continuously fed into each channel at 1 L/day until a stable MTBE concentration level in ...

A bacterial strain, PM1, which is able to utilize methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as its sole carbon and energy source, was isolated from a mixed microbial consortium in a compost biofilter capable of degrading MTBE. Initial linear rates of MTBE degradation by 2 x 10(6) cells ml(-1) were 0.07, 1.17, and 3.56 microg ml(-1) h(-1) for initial concentrations of 5, 50, and 500 microg MTBE ml(-1), res...

There is a discrepancy between in vitro cholesterol dissolving efficacy of methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethyl propionate and cholesterol gall stone dissolution in vivo. This study investigated whether the presence of bile changes the cholesterol dissolving capacity of MTBE and ethyl propionate. The addition of dimethylsulphoxide to MTBE or ethyl propionate was also studied to discover if ...

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a widespread groundwater contaminant that does not respond well to conventional treatment technologies. Growing evidence indicates that microbial communities indigenous to groundwater can degrade MTBE under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Although pure cultures of microorganisms able to degrade or cometabolize MTBE have been reported, to date the specific org...

Accurate profiling of lipidomes relies upon the quantitative and unbiased recovery of lipid species from analyzed cells, fluids, or tissues and is usually achieved by two-phase extraction with chloroform. We demonstrated that methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) extraction allows faster and cleaner lipid recovery and is well suited for automated shotgun profiling. Because of MTBE's low density, lipid...