Determination of Ethanol and Methyl Tert -Butyl Ether (MTBE) in Gasoline by NIR–AOTF-based Spectroscopy and Multiple Linear Regression with Variables Selected by Genetic Algorithm

This paper describes a near infrared spectroscopic method developed for determination of ethanol and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as additives in gasoline. The methodology employs data collected from a near infrared spectrophotometer whose monochromator is an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter (AOTF) operating in the 1500–2400 nm range. Genetic Algorithm variable selection was used in the multiple linear regression (MLR) modelling. Seven wavelengths were selected by the algorithm and the results obtained by MLR revealed that the method produces improved results, when compared with the PLS regression method, as confirmed by the lower RMSEP obtained for ethanol and MTBE determination. Besides the improvement achieved in the analytical results, the variable selection allows a reduction in the time necessary for data acquisition. This fact has special importance when AOTFs are being used as the monochromator element. The AOTF's capability of random access to the selected wavelengths can be employed to access the necessary information very rapidly, enabling the methodology to be used for in-line monitoring of fuel additives.