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Key Documents

443808

Sigma-Aldrich

tert-Butyl methyl ether

ACS reagent, ≥99.0%

Synonym(s):

MTBE, Methyl tert-butyl ether

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About This Item

Linear Formula:
(CH3)3COCH3
CAS Number:
Molecular Weight:
88.15
Beilstein:
1730942
EC Number:
MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
12352112
PubChem Substance ID:
NACRES:
NA.07

grade

ACS reagent

Quality Level

vapor density

3.1 (vs air)

vapor pressure

4.05 psi

Assay

≥99.0%

form

liquid

autoignition temp.

705 °F

expl. lim.

15.1 %

impurities

≤0.05% water
<1 ppm H2O2

evapn. residue

≤0.001%

color

APHA: ≤10

refractive index

n20/D 1.369 (lit.)

bp

55-56 °C (lit.)

mp

-110 °C

density

0.74 g/mL at 25 °C (lit.)

application(s)

microbiology

SMILES string

COC(C)(C)C

InChI

1S/C5H12O/c1-5(2,3)6-4/h1-4H3

InChI key

BZLVMXJERCGZMT-UHFFFAOYSA-N

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General description

tert-Butyl methyl ether (methyl tert-butyl ether, MTBE) is a gasoline additive. Its oxidative degradation by propane-oxidizing bacterial strains has been tested. Kinetics of its heat-mediated biodegradation has been investigated under various reaction conditions. Its biodegradation followed a pseudo-first-order decay model and its pseudo-first-order rate constants were evaluated. Its extraction from water has been proposed by employing an organic polymeric compound, Nafion. MTBE can be synthesized by acid-catalyzed reaction between methanol and isobutene. A study suggests that the addition of MTBE increases the number of active sites during polymerization of propene by stopped-flow method. This solvent meets ACS (American Chemical Society) specifications and can be used for processes requiring strict quality conditions such as analytical testing.

Application

tert-Butyl methyl ether (methyl tert-butyl ether, MTBE) may be used:
  • As sole carbon and energy source in a mixed microbial consortium.
  • To extract lipids from biological fluids for shotgun profiling.
  • To synthesize fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and glycerol tert-butyl ether by transesterification of canola oil in the absence of catalyst under supercritical condition.

Pictograms

FlameExclamation mark

Signal Word

Danger

Hazard Statements

Hazard Classifications

Flam. Liq. 2 - Skin Irrit. 2

Storage Class Code

3 - Flammable liquids

WGK

WGK 1

Flash Point(F)

-18.4 °F - closed cup

Flash Point(C)

-28 °C - closed cup


Certificates of Analysis (COA)

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Removal of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) with Nafion.
Lien HL and Zhang WX
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 144(1), 194-199 (2007)
Lipid extraction by methyl-tert-butyl ether for high-throughput lipidomics.
Matyash V, et al.
Journal of Lipid Research, 49(5), 1137-1146 (2008)
New approach of catalyst-free biodiesel production from canola oil in supercritical tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE).
Farobie O, et al.
Fuel: The Science and Technology of Fuel and Energy, 135, 172-181 (2014)
Eagleson M.
Concise Encyclopedia Chemistry, 154-154 (1994)
J R Hanson et al.
Applied and environmental microbiology, 65(11), 4788-4792 (1999-11-05)
A bacterial strain, PM1, which is able to utilize methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as its sole carbon and energy source, was isolated from a mixed microbial consortium in a compost biofilter capable of degrading MTBE. Initial linear rates of MTBE

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