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Ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) has been used as a high octane blending component since the early 1990's. However the strong interest in renewable energy has led to a dramatic increase in its use. This has also resulted in a substantial number of technical studies being carried out around the world to assess its performance with respect to vehicle performance, distribution system compatibility, environmental impact and toxicology. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive, up to date review of these data. Particular focus will be given to its positive impact on CO2 emissions.

A thorough bibliographic survey was carried out to collect literature-available information about blending octane numbers (BONs) of most widely used ethers by the refining industry (mainly MTBE and ETBE). The intention was to review the publicly reported BONs values, to suggest the most appropriate figures for future reference, while also understanding the causes of the differences. Summary tables feature all BON values, either explicitly reported in literature or calculated based on experimental results. Due to synergistic intermolecular interactions with hydrocarbons, BONs typically depend on base stock composition. The octane gain tends to grow as the paraffin content in the base stock increases. Moreover BONs tend to decrease as the octane numbers (ON) of the base stock increase.