Questions &Answers

Why are oxygenates important to the Federal Reformulated Gasoline Program  (RFG)?
The RFG program, mandated under the Clean Air Act Amendments of  1990, required the sale of cleaner gasoline in nine cities with the highest smog across the country and mandated fuel to include 2% oxygen by weight.

Why are oxygenates important to the air pollution?
Oxygenates reduce volatile organic compounds (VOC) and air toxic emissions by displacing the components of smog-forming pollutants in gasoline. Since the implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, ozone-forming emissions such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons have been significantly reduced by oxygenates.  A  recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) Urban Airshed Modeling (UAM) confirmed that air quality will suffer in reformulated gasoline (RFG) program areas if the use of oxygenates is eliminated. (RFA Ethanol Report, 10/14/99)

What are air toxins?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  refers to chemicals that cause serious health and environmental hazards as air  toxins, which are usually released from gasoline exhaust emissions. Toxins are  not specifically covered under a program in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, but the law includes a list of 189 that must be reduced.

Ethanol Issues
Does ethanol contribute to the reduction of  smog?
Ethanol helps to reduce emissions of smog precursors and air toxics by successfully displacing gasoline components such as benzene, aromatics and sulfur.  It is renewable and the only transportation fuel that helps reduce CO2 emissions by 22% and ozone formation.

How does the use of ethanol-blended fuel benefit the environment?
22% reduction in carbon monoxide (CO) emissions
Carbon monoxide  is a poisonous gas produced by incomplete combustion and a precursor to
ozone. U.S. data show that transportation sources account for more than  two-thirds of carbon
monoxide. Carbon monoxide emissions are significantly  reduced when ethanol-blended gasoline is
used. (Illinois Department of  Commerce and Community Affairs)

Net reduction in ozone-forming emissions
Ozone is formed when hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxides react in the presence of  sunlight and heat.  This is of particular concern on warm, summer-like days when smog is prevalent. Ethanol-blended fuels reduce hydrocarbons and carbon  monoxide in exhaust, which results in an overall reduction in ozone-forming potential.
Reduction of greenhouse gases by around 40%
Argonne National Laboratory has concluded that ethanol results in 35 to 46 percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional  gasoline. By helping restore the natural balance of CO2 in the atmosphere,  renewable fuels are an important part of global climate change mitigation.

Ethanol Consumer Benefits
How does ethanol benefit my engine?
-Burns fuel more efficiently and increases engine  life from its high octane rating.
-Cleans fuel by providing it with  additional oxygen, thereby raising the air/fuel ratio,  which may benefit engines that have not recently been tuned or that have dirty air   filters.
-Eliminates need and expense of adding a gas line anti-freeze by absorbing more water than a small bottle of isopropyl.
-Prevents  burning of engine valves, because ethanol burns cooler than gasoline.
-Loosens contaminants and residues deposited by previous gasoline fills.
-Permits reduction or removal of carcinogenic benzene and other hazardous              high-octane additives.

Is it necessary to make changes to my vehicle in order to use  ethanol-blended fuels?
No. Cars built since the 70s are fully compatible with up to 10% ethanol in the mixture.

MTBE Issues
How is someone exposed to MTBE? (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association)
-Direct consumption of water contaminated with MTBE
-Inhaling MTBE vapors released from water while  bathing or cooking
-Being present in places where gasoline is pumped into vehicles
-Filling gasoline-powered home maintenance equipment
-Living  near bulk gasoline loading and unloading facilities
-Living near facilities  that can leak gasoline from underground storage containers
-Absorbed  through skin contact

Is MTBE in drinking water harmful?
MTBE is capable of causing cancer, kidney, reproductive, developmental, and nervous system toxicity in laboratory animals exposed to large amounts. Health complaints were first  reported in Fairbanks, Ala., in November 1992 when about 200 residents reported headaches, dizziness, irritated eyes, burning of the nose and throat, coughing,  disorientation and nausea after MTBE had been added to gasoline. Health complaints also have been registered in: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin.  (National Air Water-Quality Assessment Program)

At water levels that would cause adverse health effects to occur, people would generally find the water undesirable to drink. Since MTBE has an unpleasant odor and taste, some individuals can detect the presence of MTBE in water and air at very low levels. (Bureau of Health, Department of Human Services and Department of Environmental Protection)

How does MTBE penetrate drinking water?
Gasoline spills are the  most likely way of contaminating drinking water. Spills can be either from leaking underground storage tanks or from refueling, improper discarding of old  gasoline and leaks from vehicles.  (National Drinking Water  Clearinghouse)

Will it be very expensive to clean up MTBE-contaminated water?
A  report released by University of California scientists in November estimates  annual costs of cleaning up MTBE could reach $1 billion.  The University of  California-Davis study confirmed that water treatment costs associated with  CaRFG2 and MTBE make it the most expensive gasoline formation, when all costs  are considered. An MTBE spill is more expensive and difficult to clean since MTBE resists biodegradation.

Who is threatened by MTBE?
People with the greatest exposure are  gasoline service attendants, automobile mechanics and commuters. Studies by the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fairbanks, Ala.; Albany, N.Y.; and Stamford, Conn. show that among commuters there was a significant increase in  the concentration of MTBE in their blood as a result of exposure to MTBE while  driving. Detectable concentrations of MTBE were found in the blood of all those  tested two months after the use of MTBE was suspended in Alaska. (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association)

Why is MTBE attacked when benzene, a known carcinogen, is still used in  gasoline?
MTBE moves faster in groundwater than any other gasoline component. MTBE is more resistant to biodegradation than benzene and is about 30 times more soluble than benzene in water, which makes it even more difficult  and expensive to remove MTBE from water. (EPA MTBE Fact Sheet  #2, January 1998, and Bureau of Health, Department of Human Services and Department of Environmental Protection)

MTBE vs. Ethanol
Which oxygenate reduces more harmful emissions?
Ethanol has twice the oxygen content of MTBE and can provide greater emissions reductions on a per gallon basis than MTBE.  A National Research Council report stated that carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from ethanol-blended RFG are lower than emissions from MTBE-blended RFG.  (Oxy-Fuel News, 9/27/99)

Why is ethanol more environment-friendly than MTBE?
Ethanol is produced from renewable, homegrown supplies of biological feedstock, such as  corn and reduces our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuel imports. MTBE is  produced from methanol, a corrosive and poisonous alcohol made from natural gas, a non-renewable fossil fuel.

MTBE resists biodegradation, while ethanol biodegrades within two to four  hours and cannot contaminate drinking water. (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association)

MTBE already has contaminated 71% of Santa Monica’s water supplies and has been found in many reservoirs and lakes from Mt. Shasta in the north to Lake Tahoe in the east and Lake Havasa in the south.

Is ethanol more expensive than MTBE?
USDA analysts testified  before the EPA Blue Ribbon Panel and confirmed that ethanol could replace MTBE in California by the end of 2002 and in the rest of the country by the end of  2004 without substantially increasing fuel or food prices.

Consumers do not see a price difference when buying either ethanol-blended or  MTBE-blended fuels. (Renewable Fuels Association)

Companies such as Shell, Texaco, and Mobil have already taken steps toward creating ethanol-blended gasoline, which has proven to be less expensive than  MTBE-blended gasoline. (Oxy-Fuel News, 10/25/99)

Is it more dangerous to transport MTBE instead of ethanol?
If MTBE  leaks or spills, it is very difficult and expensive to clean up the contaminated water because it does not biodegrade easily. MTBE is so soluble that it travels  at the same rate as groundwater and disobeys all the familiar cleanup rules. Ethanol spills would not pose any water contamination dangers since it biodegrades within two to four hours. (Renewable Fuels  Association, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association)

What are the other alternatives, and why are they not viable?
Other alternatives to reduce emissions include hydrocarbons, aromatics,  alkylates and ethers. Many are petroleum-based substances that would require the use of non-renewable resources, and thus increase dependence on foreign oil imports and fossil fuel resources. Also, aromatics boost toxic emissions when  used in high quantities while ethers such as ETBE, TAME, and diisopropyl ether  (DIPE) have the same water contamination problems as MTBE and are economically less competitive to manufacture. (EPA Blue Ribbon Panel, July  1999)