Elroy, MTBE doesn't accumulate in the water table if it doesn't leak out of tanks. Having gasoline, diesel, lead, or MTBE leaking into the ground are all highly undesirable. Leaks are mostly avoided, these days. There are serious penalties in many countries for environmental damage. MTBE seems a good thing to use if it's economic.
But, this last northern summer, I was bemused to see a large tank in Saint Quentin La Poterie, in southern France, leaking from the piping at one end into a bucket, which was full and overflowing onto the ground. The tank was full of, I guess, diesel fuel. It was about 20,000 litres and about 3 metres above ground.
I used to walk past it frequently and while the bucket was sometimes emptied, it was often overflowing and the area looked as though it has been soaking up fuel for decades.
The ground water flows across the valley and down the flow which used to feed the aqueduct to Nimes over the famous Pont du Gard.
The best way to raise octane number is to use process engineering to produce the right hydrocarbons, rather than grow crops to produce ethanol. Saudi Arabia has a LOT of oil and there is methane galore for hydrogenation. Ethanol is okay, but uneconomic.
Mqurice |
