Only ten years after the increased addition of methyl-tert-butylether (MTBE) to U.S. gasolines, nationwide MTBE contamination of thousands of drinking water supply wells has been widely documented, reflecting enormous environmental and economic costs. Due to its abundance in gasoline, high aqueous solubility, and slow degradation rate in aquifers, MTBE has migrated in significant quantities fro...

The utilization of the fuel oxygenate methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and related compounds by microorganisms was investigated in a mainly theoretical study based on the Y(ATP) concept. Experiments were conducted to derive realistic maintenance coefficients and K(s) values needed to calculate substrate fluxes available for biomass production. Aerobic substrate conversion and biomass synthesis we...

A microbial consortium that degrades ethyl-tert-butyl ether (ETBE) as the sole source of carbon and energy under aerobic conditions was selected from a gasoline-polluted soil. This consortium consists of a variety of microorganisms with a predominance of filamentous morphology. Degradation of ETBE was found to be solely related to bacterial activity. After prolonged cultivation followed by succ...

The synthesis of effective control structures for reactive distillation (RD) columns through a systematic analysis of the steady state relationship between potential manipulated variables (inputs) and potential controlled variables (outputs) is demonstrated. The industrially important double feed RD columns for MTBE and methyl acetate production are used as examples. In order to regulate produc...

A novel Pd-based electro-Fenton (E-Fenton) process has recently been developed to transform organic contaminants in groundwater. However, it only produces H2O2 and requires addition of Fe(2+). In this study, an innovative approach is developed to effectively regulate the generation of Fe(2+) from an iron cathode in a three-electrode system in addition to H2O2 production. The Fe(2+) is then used...

A pilot-scale evaluation was conducted at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Test & Evaluation (T&E) Facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, on a multi-layer, cartridge-based system that combines physical filtration with carbon adsorption and ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection to serve as a home-base water treatment security device against accidental or intentional contaminant events. The sy...

Abstract The peracetalization of a β-hydroxy hydroperoxide derived from methyl oleate was studied using benzaldehyde as model substrate to give the corresponding fatty 1,2,4-trioxane. desired product obtained mixture regioisomers but only one diastereoisomer each formed. nature acid catalyst and both p-toluene sulfonic (PTSA) Amberlyst A35 (A35) were found be efficient homogeneous heterogeneous...

We have been studying an MTBE plume at Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. Microcosm studies with site sediments, conducted at the University of California at Davis and the University of Waterloo, suggest that native aerobic MTBE-degrading bacteria are present in the site sediments and can be stimulated to degrade MTBE solely by adding oxygen. In two separate field tests, dissolved oxygen has been r...