ABSTRACT
Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
I. INTRODUCTION
Ethers and alcohols are being blended with gasoline to increase octane number and to reduce air pollution problems associated with leaded gasoline. These oxygenates have replaced lead alkyl and other metal-containing compounds in gasoline because the use of compounds such as tetraethyl lead (TEL), tetramethyl lead (TML), and methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in gasoline has created air pollution problems. The emission of their combustion products from vehicle exhausts creates atmospheric pollution causing serious health hazards. These oxygenates are methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE), tertiary-amyl methyl ether (TAME), tertiary-amyl ethyl ether (TAEE), diisopropyl ether (DIPE), methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, and tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA). Among all these oxygenates, MTBE appears to be the most effective choice because its physical, chemical, and thermal properties are compatible with that of gasoline, especially in the boiling range where gasoline typically shows lowest antiknock character-istics. In this chapter, the properties of ethers and alcohol oxygenates are presented.
