Gasoline oxygenates fuels

Demand for gasoline is 125 billion gals (473 billion 1) per year according to 1998 estimates. The Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 mandates the use of oxygenated fuels such as ethanol blends with up to 3.5 percent oxygen by weight in gasoline (E-10 or... 

Many reformulated gasolines use oxygenated compounds as additives. Clean Air regulations specify the need for oxygenated fuel in 39 metropolitan areas with high carbon monoxide concentrations. The regulations for oxygenated fuel are seasonal ... 

In 1998, approximately 30% of all gasoline in the United States contained oxygenates. At that time, MTBE was the most common fuel oxygenate, present in more than 80% of oxygenated fuels. However, due to increasing restrictions on the use of MTBE, this percentage has decreased over the past several years. In 1998, ethanol was the second most common fuel oxygenate, present in about... 

Alkanes undergo combustion reaction with oxygen at high temperatures to produce carbon dioxide and water. This is why alkanes are good fuels. Oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons is the basis for their use as energy sources for heat, e.g. natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and fuel oil, and for power, e.g. gasoline, diesel fuel and aviation fuel. 

The catalytic alkylation of isobutane with C3—C5 alkenes was commercialized in the US during WW II. Blending the alkylate product with catalytically cracked gasoline provided high-octane aviation fuel. The introduction of aromatic and oxygenated fuel additives, such as methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE), pushed alkylation to the sidelines. However, in the 1990s, when the environmental effects of such additives were realized, alkylation regained its importance [191]. 

The FTS converts synthesis gas into mostly liquid hydrocarbons [12-15]. Depending on the origin of the synthesis gas, the overall process from carbon feedstock to liquid product is called gas-to-liquids (GTL), coal to liquids (CTL), or biomass to liquids (BTL). The product spectrum, however, is broader than liquid hydrocarbons alone and can include methane and alkanes, C H2 +2 (with n from 1 — 100), alkenes or olefins (C H2 n > 2), and to a lesser extent, oxygenated products such as alcohols. Hence the FTS offers the opportunity to convert gas, coal, or biomass-derived syngas into transportation fuels, such as gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel oil, and chemicals, such as olefins, naphtha, and waxes. The reactions need a catalyst, which in commercial applications is either based on cobalt or iron. 

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