ETBE Technology

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has identified several hundred MTBE-contaminated sites that have performed treatment of soil and groundwater to remove or destroy MTBE.1 Many of these sites have also treated other fuel components, primarily benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), and some have treated fuel oxygenates other than MTBE. Although others have reported about treatment technologies for MTBE cleanup,2 only limited information has been published about cleanup of other oxygenates. These oxygenates include ether compounds, such as ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), diisopropyl ether (DIPE), and tert-amyl ethyl ether (TAEE), as well as alcohol compounds, such as tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), tert-amyl alcohol (TAA), ethanol, and methanol. 

Several years ago, ICI ETB looked at the total market for chlor-alkali membrane technology and considered how to develop an electrolyser that would extend its product and market range. A detailed analysis was carried out and many chlor-alkali producers were consulted. As a result of this work ICI ETB has developed an electrolyser called BiChlor. 

Set out in the sections below are the stages that ICI ETB went through in developing BiChlor. Some of the features of BiChlor are also discussed and finally the performance of the technology is displayed. 

ICI ETB identified that in order to ensure that it has the technology to provide solutions across the full range of the market, a world-scale bipolar electrolyser was needed in addition to the proven and excellent FM1500. 

With FM1500 and BiChlor, ICI ETB has the technology to suit all project needs... 

IFP Ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) FCC and steam-cracker C4 cuts and ethanol CATACOL technology ensures hirjt ETBE yields by combining catalysis and distillation separation 3 1996... 

Guideline on the Use of Particleboard with Respect to Avoiding Intolerable Formaldehyde Concentrations in Room Air," Committee for Uniform Technical Construction, Institute for Construction Technology, (ETB), Berlin, translated by U.S. HUD, 1980. 

Since MTBE can be a contaminant of aquifers, it is necessary to assess the efficiency of remediation technologies. MTBE (and possibly ETBE) was initially considered to be completely recalcitrant and therefore persistent in contaminated aquifers. The size and extent of MTBE plumes is also a concern since this will impact directly on the amount of water requiring treatment. A variety of technologies have been used to clean-up MTBE contaminated aquifers (for a review, see [12]). The potential to use aerobic in situ bioremediation to clean up sites contaminated by MTBE [13] originated from reports indicating the occurrence of aerobic MTBE biodegradation in several contaminated sites. In order to have some level of confidence that bioremediation of MTBE... 

MTBE/ETBE and TAME/TAEE Etherification technologies-Axens m-Xylene - UOP LLC, A Honeywell Company Natural detergent alcohols - Davy Process Technology, UK Normal parafins, C g-C 3 - UOP LLC, A Honeywell Company n-Paraffins - Kellogg Brown Root LLC Octenes - Axens... 

MTBE/ETBE and TAME/TAEE Etherification technologies... 

Application The Snamprogetti Etherification Technology allows producing high-octane oxygenates compounds such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), tert-amyl ethyl ether (TAEE) and etherified light cracked naphtha (ELCN). 

Most important industrial applications of RD are in the field of esterification processes such as the famous Eastman Chemical Co. s process for the synthesis of methyl acetate [1]. This process combines reactive and non-reactive sections in a single hybrid RD column and thereby replaces a complex conventional flowsheet with 11 process units. With this RD technology investment and energy costs were reduced by factor five [2]. Another success story of RD was started in the 1980s by using this technology for the preparation of the ethers MTBE, TAME, and ETBE, which are produced in large amounts as fuel components because of their excellent antiknock properties [3]. 

MTBE, ETBE, TAME IFP etherification technology, inst. Fr. Petrole-Direction Ind. Bull, 12 (1991)... 

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