|
State Restrictions on Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether |
|
By the end of 2005, 25 States had barred, or passed laws banning, any more than trace levels of MTBE in their gasoline supplies, and legislation to ban MTBE was pending in 4 others. Some State laws address only MTBE; others also address ethers such as ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) and tertiary amyl methyl ether (TAME). AEO2006 assumes that all State MTBE bans prohibit the use of all ethers for gasoline blending. Even with the removal of the oxygen content requirement for RFG in EPACT2005, RFG is still expected to be blended with ethanol, because it is not clear where else refiners could obtain the clean, high-octane blending components needed to replace MTBE, which supplies 11 percent of the volume and a significant portion of the rated octane of RFG. Aromatic compounds and olefins are high-octane blending components, but they are limited by the RFG requirements and by the Federal Mobile Source Air Toxics program. Isooctane and alkylate are clean, high-octane blending components, but refinery capacity to produce them is limited, and it is often less expensive to use ethanol at up to 10 percent by volume to offset part of the volume loss resulting from the removal of MTBE. As noted above, EPACT2005 also mandates the use of 7.5 billion gallons of renewable motor fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, by 2012 and requires renewable motor fuel use to grow at the rate of overall motor fuel use thereafter. In addition, some States have their own renewable fuels programs. Minnesota currently requires all its gasoline supply to be blended with 10 percent ethanol, increasing to 20 percent ethanol if at least 50 percent of the new cars sold in the State can be guaranteed by their manufacturers to be compatible with the higher blend. Most current automobiles can use a maximum of only 10 percent ethanol in gasoline, and automakers worry that widespread use of gasoline with 20 percent ethanol content will result in misfueling of vehicles not designed to use more than 10 percent ethanol. Several other State programs are contingent upon local ethanol supplies. Montana’s MTBE ban takes effect only when 40 million gallons of ethanol production capacity is available in the State; and Hawaii has a pending requirement for 85 percent of its gasoline to be blended with 10 percent ethanol if enough ethanol can be produced in the State.
Contact: William Brown |