Comparative modelling study on the inhibiting effect of TAME, ETBE and MTBE at low temperature

The oxidation of tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) at low temperature and low pressure is investigated computationally in a static reactor. The results are compared to measurements. The observed satisfactory agreement between the model predictions and the experimental data confirms the validity of the proposed reaction scheme. The results for TAME oxidation are related to those for ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), previously obtained in the literature. For all three ethers, it is found that their addition to n-pentane increases the induction period of the first cool flame of the latter. The calculations indicate that the amount of alkene production which can form resonance-stabilized ‘‘dead radicals’’ correlates with the efficiency of octane boosters.