Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl tert-butyl Ether (MTBE)

Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is a volatile organic compound made as a by-product of petroleum refinery operations by combining methanol derived from natural gas and isobutylene. MTBE is a gasoline additive that has been used as an octane enhancer since the phase-out of lead in the late 1970s. MTBE is more soluble in water, has a smaller molecular size, and is less biodegradable than other components of gasoline. Consequently, MTBE is more mobile in groundwater than other gasoline constituents, and may often be detected when other components are not. MTBE has been classified by the united states environmental protection agency (USEPA) as a conceivable carcinogenic agent. Based on this agancy standards, the allow able restriction of MTBE in drinking water is 20-40 ppb. This limitation prevented its use as a gasoline additive since May 2006. Recently, many technologies have been used for MTBE degradation in water. One of the efficient techniques for the removal of organic dyes is advanced oxidation processes (AOP) by using heterogeneous semiconductor photocatalysts in which the hydroxyl radicals (OH) are the main oxidizing regents for the photocatalytic decolorization.