Fuel Ethers enable the Use of Biofuels

Bio-ethers enhance the properties of the ethanol used in their production in several ways.

Firstly they deliver a better balance between the high speed and low speed octane number (MON and RON) that modern cars need.
Secondly studies by the European Commission have shown that they reduce the smog forming precursors (VOCs) emitted from cars.
Most importantly of all, ethers contribute to less CO2 emissions across their life-cycle than using ethanol directly: typically around 38%.
Converting ethanol into (bio)ethers also removes the barriers to its introduction into petrol. Most notably ethers remove the concern over "co-mingling” of different batches of fuel containing different levels of bio-ethanol. Low levels of bio-ethanol in gasoline show non-linear volatility behaviour. If two batches of gasoline containing different levels of bio-ethanol are mixed together then the resulting blend could have a higher than expected volatility. This could result in it going out of specification which is a major concern, given the prevalence of shared storage in the European oil industry.
Bio-ethers are also compatible with the hardware used in the distribution systems and in older vehicles. It is worth remembering that the average age of a car in the EU is around 7 years old. Likewise there is no need to dry the distribution system in order to prevent water being dissolved in the petrol.