There is no practical technology yet available for removing MTBE from household air. Removing it from household water before it is vaporized would appear the only solution to MTBE vapor generated in the home. The odor of turpentine when taking a shower or boiling water has been reported in contaminated water areas.
There are a few technologies that can remove much of MTBE from water, but many of them are experimental, far too costly to be practical, or require water to be heated before putting through treatment. Time-tested, activated carbon for the removal of organic compounds is already part of most home filtering devices, but MTBE has proven difficult to remove by standard activated carbon filters. Others, compressed carbon blocks, require pressure to drive the water through the block. Under pressure, the greater portion of the MTBE molecules simply flow through the carbon, as they resist adsorption or adherence to the surface of the activated carbon particles. What's more, the MTBE molecules are competing, if you will, with other organic contaminants in water that bind much more readily with activated carbon. These ether compounds can quickly block the available surfaces of carbon particles, making them unavailable to the more reluctant MTBE molecules. Studies of filter technologies for MTBE removal support the trickling - not the pumping under pressure - of water through the filtering medium to allow more time for MTBE to come in contact with and adsorb to the activated carbon particle surfaces.
So far, the most scientifically sound and economical MTBE removal system for home use appears to be one from a company that has engineered the very first filter components specifically for the removal of MTBE after the water is pre-filtered for removal of virtually all bacteria and most of the other organic contaminants as well as chlorine. The developer chose the British Berkefeld Filter as the "host" filter unit because of its economy, its high efficiency and output and, most importantly, because of the Berkey's trickle technology that really lends itself to maximum MTBE adsorption. (NOW you know why I had told you last month that I felt British Berkefeld Filter owners were going to be in good shape on the MTBE front, but I was not free to disclose the rest of the story until testing had been completed by this company. They will be releasing information on it in about a week.)
These MTBE filters, containing a proprietary, ultra-high surface area medium, will screw onto the bottom of the existing Berkefeld filter cones in the bottom chamber, receiving already-filtered water from the top chamber, and effectively remove MTBE molecules as the water trickles through into the bottom chamber. They have told me the filters will ship in 4-6 weeks, and I suspect they will be deluged with orders when especially hard-hit areas like California and New York get wind of it. I've asked them if I could at least post their literature at The Ark Institute's site this week, and they said okay, so those of you on this mailing list are getting a shot at it first.
As more reliable technology for MTBE removal is developed, I will keep you posted. Ditto for more studies and conclusions on biological effects of MTBE as they come out. This issue has the potential to become a critical environmental and personal health crisis for the next ten, twenty or more years in the U.S. and anywhere else MTBE is currently leaking into water supplies. It deserves your attention...
Geri Guidetti, The Ark Institute
