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( Oxygenate)
Oxygenated chemical compounds contain oxygen as a part of their chemical structure. The term usually refers to oxygenated fuels. Oxygenates are usually employed as gasoline additives to reduce carbon monoxide that is created during the burning of the fuel. The oxygenate MTBE has been found to have contaminated groundwater, mostly through leaks in underground gasoline storage tanks. In 2004, California and New York banned MTBE, generally replacing it with ethanol. Several other states started switching soon afterward. The oxygenates commonly used are either alcohols or ethers In the United States, preferential regulatory and tax treatment of ethanol (and methanol) automotive fuels introduces complexities beyond the energy balance inherent in and the engineering merits of the fuels themselves. North American automakers have in 2006 and 2007 enthusiastically promoted a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, marketed as E85, and their flex-fuel vehicles, e.g. GM's "Live Green, Go Yellow" campaign. The apparent motivation for this is the nature of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which give an effective 54% fuel efficiency bonus to vehicles capable of running on 85% alcohol blends over vehicles not adapted to run on 85% alcohol blends,[1]. This regulatory artificiality is quite valuable to the North American auto manufacturers in avoiding fines for failing to meet CAFE fuel economy standards imposed upon each manufacturer's car and light truck fleets[2]. In addition to this auto manufacturer-driven impetus for 85% alcohol blends, the United States Environmental Protection Agency had authority to mandate that minimum proportions of oxygenates be added to automotive gasoline on regional and seasonal bases from 1992 until 2006 in an attempt to reduce air pollution, in particular ground-level ozone and smog. As a consequence, much gasoline sold in the United States is blended with up to 10% of an unspecified oxygenating agent. This product is known formally as oxygenated fuel and often (but not entirely correctly, as there are Federally-mandated reformulated gasolines without oxygenate) as reformulated gasoline. Groundwater contamination scares and the State of California's ban of the substance as a gasoline additive has allowed ethanol to displace methyl tert(iary)-butyl ether (MTBE) as the most popular fuel oxygenate in the United States.
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Oxygenate Subcategories
Oxygenate Articles
Healthy Heart by Bob Taylor
Developing heart disease is a gradual, lifelong process. The heart is an amazing muscle and automatically adjusts its pace to meet the needs that the body demands of it. During heavy exercise it can speed up and deliver more oxygenated blood and wh...
Customer Service in the Bottled Water Industry - Pure Water and the Customer Promise by Jon M. Stout
Customer Service in the Bottled Water Industry Pure Water and the Customer Promise
February 7, 2006
Almost every company discusses, at length, the need for customer service and the significance of supplying true excellence...
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