I am trying to do a research on the levels of MTBE in industrial and domestic wastewater. I need some assistance.
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a fuel oxygenate which is used to increase the octane level of gasoline and reduce carbon monoxide emissions. MTBE contamination is a relatively recent concern, due to its introduction to groundwater and surface waters through leaking underground gasoline storage tanks and discharges of fuel from boats and other watercraft. MTBE has been used as a gasoline additive since its introduction in 1979 as an octane enhancer during the organolead phase out. It is also used to improve combustion and to reduce emissions of ground-level ozone and other toxic pollutants; by 1998, MTBE was added to _30% of all gasoline sold in the United States.
I have analysed MTBE in water using Purge and Trap GC-MS.
I don't know of any standards for concentrations in wastewater. Standards for drinking water are based on taste rather than toxicity.
Thank you Dr. Andersen, I have noted it. Please can you kindly forward any of your literature based on the same incase you have?
We analyse MTBE with headspace GC-MS from groundwater, soil or sediments together with the BTXE. You can get an overview of the analyses from the server of
http://www.epa.gov/oust/mtbe/mtbeassess.htm
My work with MTBE was a work for hire which contributes to a patent so it isn't published. We developed the methods from the EPA method for BTEX by just adding the MTBE to the method as suggested in the link provided by Dr. Screiber.
MTBE comes off before the volatile range organics and may not be included in the volatile range result." Thus, owing to the volatility of MTBE, analytical methods for measuring MTBE in drinking water are based on purge and trap or head space gas chromatography (GC) using photoionization detectors (PIDs) or mass spectrometry (MS) detection
Two U.S. EPA methods (EPA Method 502.2 Rev. 2.1 and EPA Method 524.2 Rev. 4.1) are approved for measuring MTBE in drinking water. EPA Method 502.2 employs purge and trap capillary GC with PIDs and electrolytic conductivity detectors in series but does not list a method detection limit (MDL). EPA Method 524.2 uses purge and trap capillary GC with MS detectors in series and has an MDL of 0.09 µg/L (U.S. EPA, 2001).
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