Abstract
The effect of blending MTBE in the gasoline was evaluated. MTBE effectively boost the octane numbers of gasoline without adversely effecting its other properties. However, MTBE is not as efficient as leadalkyl compounds as far as the specific octane number improvements are concerned. The addition of 5 to 30 volume percent MTBE increases 1.9 to 11.8 RON of a typical gasoline. MTBE addition also extends the volume of gasoline produces for a given crude by adding volume to the gasoline pool. MTBE provides much higher FEON to the gasoline in comparison with other gasoline components. A higher FEON increases the efficiency of the engine. MTBE is not affected by the lead level of the gasoline. For this reason, lost octane in future lead reductions of the gasoline in Saudi Arabia can be made up with MTBE. MTBE addition to the Saudi gasoline increases the RVP but within the specification of the gasoline. MTBE has favorable effect on the distillation characteristics of the gasoline. MTBE addition lowers the distillation temperature which improves driveability and cold engine operation. MTBE-gasoline blends were found free of gums and peroxides after long term storage and pose no phase separation problems in the presence of water. MTBE is miscible in gasoline in all proportions and its solubility in water is low.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 509-544 |
| Number of pages | 36 |
| Journal | Fuel Science and Technology International |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1995 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors wish to acknowledge the support of this work by the Research Institute of the King Fahd University of Petroleum 'and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Fuel Technology
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology