During the last Democratic debate, John Kerry said that the producers of MTBE should be held responsible and punished for the negative effects of the chemical on the environment. I'm not real familiar with the history of this additive. Any idea why Kerry thinks the MTBE manufacturers should be held responsible when it is the EPA who is mandating its addition to gasoline?
But modern cars with computer controlled fuel injection systems don't need any oxygenates added to their fuel to reduce unburned hydrocarbons. They automatically reduce the amount of air in the fuel air mixture. Oxygnenates reduce the amount of chemical energy available in fuel, because they are an oxidizer. The only reason why oxygenates were added to gasoline was so that older cars could reduce their unburned hydrocarbons. It would be better to get those cars off the road. I doubt if the production of ethanol breaks even in terms of energy used and useful energy produced. The mandate to use ethanol was entirely polically motivated to increase the demand for Midwestern corn.