AM-02-18 LOW COST CONVERSION OF MTBE UNITS TO ALTERNATIVE GASOLINE BLENDING COMPONENTS PRODUCTION

Description:

Oxygen requirements for Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) in the United States led to a boom in Methyl- Tert-Butyl-Ether (MTBE) production in the 1990s. MTBE became the single most widely used oxygenate in RFG, primarily for its superior blending characteristics and economics compared to ethanol, its main rival in the oxygenate market. Currently, MTBE accounts for about 11% of the reformulated gasoline (RFG) volume in the US1. However, concern was raised over this wide use, especially in California, where MTBE was detected in some wells. There has been pressure from the regulators to reduce or eliminate the use of MTBE as a blending component in gasoline. Since MTBE accounts for between 3-4 volume percent of gasoline volume in the United States, a ban on MTBE poses a significant challenge for refiners to meet the deficit, let alone the oxygenate requirement in the RFG. Even though California announced its decision to ban the use of MTBE from January 1st, 2003, the outlook for MTBE in the United States is still uncertain and difficult to predict, although a strong reduction of its use is likely.