Monitoring biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) using compound-specific carbon isotope anaysis

The potential of compound-specific isotope analysis to assess in situ biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in groundwater is examined in laboratory studies at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The research suggests that carbon isotope analysis could possibly be used to trace in situ biodegradation of MTBE and tert-butyl ether.