<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd">
  <dc:contributor>James F. Pankow</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>Nic E. Korte</dc:contributor>
  <dc:contributor>John S. Zogorski</dc:contributor>
  <dc:creator>Paul J. Squillace</dc:creator>
  <dc:date>1996</dc:date>
  <dc:description>&lt;p&gt;When gasoline that has been oxygenated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) comes in contact with water, large amounts of MTBE can dissolve; at 25 degrees Celsius the water solubility of MTBE is about 5,000 milligrams per liter for a gasoline that is 10 percent MTBE by weight. In contrast, for a nonoxygenated gasoline, the total hydrocarbon solubility in water is typically about 120 milligrams per liter. MTBE sorbs only weakly to soil and aquifer materials; therefore, sorption will not significantly retard MTBE's transport by ground water. In addition, MTBE generally resists degradation in ground water. The half-life of MTBE in the atmosphere can be as short as 3 days in a regional airshed. MTBE in the air tends to partition into atmospheric water, including precipitation. However, washout of gas-phase MTBE by precipitation would not, by itself, greatly alter the gas-phase concentration of the compound in the air. The partitioning of MTBE to precipitation is nevertheless strong enough to allow for up to 3 micrograms per liter or more inputs of MTBE to surface and ground water.&lt;/p&gt;</dc:description>
  <dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
  <dc:identifier>10.3133/fs20396</dc:identifier>
  <dc:language>en</dc:language>
  <dc:publisher>U.S. Geological Survey</dc:publisher>
  <dc:title>Environmental behavior and fate of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)</dc:title>
  <dc:type>reports</dc:type>
</oai_dc:dc>