Alternative Fuels. Moving beyond MTBE

Moving beyond MTBE.

In March, prompted by rising concerns over groundwater contamination, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) called for a phaseout of methyl-tert-butyl ether, or MTBE, a chemical added to gasoline to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) pollution. The 1990 Clean Air Act requires that gasoline sold in polluted urban areas contain oxygen additives. This "oxygena-tion" supposedly promotes complete ...

Alternative Fuels In Aviation

During the last years, the aviation sector has been looking into alternatives to kerosene from crude oil, to combat climate change by reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to ensure security of supply at affordable prices. The efforts are also a reaction to commitments and policy packages. Currently, a wide range of possible fuel candidates and fuel blends are discussed in the triple ...

BIODIESEL: Cultivating Alternative Fuels

Beyond MTBE: Applying the Precautionary Principle to Gasoline Additives

Printed 1/2/2001 2 Based on an evaluation of the physicochemical and toxicological properties of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE), as well as an ex post-facto cost and benefit analysis, it has become clear that there are less expensive and disruptive approaches to achieving the goals of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments with regards to gasoline-powered mobile sources. However, before jumping to t...

Cost Benefit Analysis of MTBE and Alternative Gasoline Formulations

This paper presents a cost-benefit analysis of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) requiring the addition of oxygen content in gasoline, using California as a case study. The valuation and comparison of costs and benefits for several fuel blends (with and without oxygen content) provides a framework to investigate cross-media (air, water, soil) tradeoffs. We use known valuation methods suc...