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Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether

MTBE Water Testing Private Wells Pennsylvania Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether Facts Sheet MTBE- Well/ Groundwater Contamination Issues Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is made from methanol and a by-product of the oil refining process, it was added to gasoline in an attempt to make gas burn cleaner, but studies show it has had little effect on curbing air pollution.   An ether, in general, is a compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two carbon atoms. In methyl tertiary-butyl ether (also known as methyl t-butyl ether or MTBE), one carbon atom is that of a methyl group, -CH3, and the other is the central atom of a tertiary butyl group, -C(CH3)3.  At room temperature, MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is highly soluble in water and MTBE is 28 times more soluble than benzene.  MTBE will diffuse 8.6 times faster than Benzene. This will allow MTBE to spread laterally faster than the other hydrocarbons, creating a wider and longer plume. MTBE is 2.6 times more likely to vaporize than Benzene. MTBE is 9.2 times more likely to stay in water or to enter water from the atmosphere than Benzene. MTBE prefers to be in water 42 times more than it does air.  The Henry's Law Constant is the ratio of the concentration in air divided by the concentration in water. MTBE's low Henry's Law Constant (0.024) indicates that it greatly prefers water to air and any vapor that contacts water will preferably move into the water.

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