Reprocessing or re-distilling or altering gasoline for long-term storage?

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SumGuy

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I don't know if it's ever been suggested to create a sub-forum for gasoline (or fuel liquids generally) but it would seem natural for this website.

Anyways, I was wondering if it was possible to alter retail pump-gasoline to render it suitable for long-term storage (ie 1 or more years). I know there are fuel stabilizer additives, the performance of which I don't know (please comment if you know). I was thinking re-distillation might remove the unstable components? I guess I'm looking for some hard-core chemistry theory here. Also, maybe the possibility to start with marine or aviation gasoline? Perhaps they are naturally more suitable for long-term storage with less preparation?

(how about adding "stabilize" and "gasoline" as usable tags?)
 
RooflessVW said:
Gasoline is (relatively) inexpensive and dangerous to store.

So what is your goal? Non-ethanol fuel will last at least a year with a stabilizer added.
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Why is it dangerous to store? Most people have 2 cars in their garage with half full tanks.
 
I know about ,and have used stabilizers in the gas in my boat. A couple of times I did have issues with it. Like I've had the carb develop some green stuff which meant having to remove and clean it for it to run properly. I also heard about a company that would "polish" your gas to remove mostly the varnish that forms after years of being stored. I don't know if they still do that or not. But if you have a boat with a couple of hundred gallons of gas that has been stored for years, you gotta do something with it.,,
 
wpod said:
Why is it dangerous to store? Most people have 2 cars in their garage with half full tanks.
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When I see the thread title

Reprocessing or re-distilling or altering gasoline for long-term storage?​

My mind doesn't go to gasoline in a vehicle fuel cell.
 
How long term are you talking? I've used gas from a sealed tank with some stabil that was 2 years old without issue and my lawnmower typically sees 6 months to a year for its gas.

If you want longer than that. Non ethanol in a sealed container with an inert atomosphere would be the way to go. Awful lot of work though.


You wouldn't be able to reprocess it without significantly changing it's characteristics including the octane. Is a fairly complex blend of mostly volatile organics and several additives.
 
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Retail gas is a crappy mix of benzene, toluene, xylene, with the proportions just right for the octane grade you're buying.

You can buy the same chemicals, 99% pure, as paint thinner, but pay $15/gallon or more.

AVGas can be stable for years; this should be your starting point.
 
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A friend must rely on generators for electricity. He stores several 50 gallon drums of gas for up to a year. He uses this product and it has always worked for generators and vehicles.
1662388799465.jpg
 
I don't think re-distilling it would be the answer, but reprocessing it in some way might. As @Spectre694 suggested above, gasoline kept in clean air tight storage containers should last a year or more without issues, even with E10. The problems arise when gas is kept in open systems such as the fuel tank on your OPE or in a container with the vent left open, etc.
 
I believe gasoline starts out with naptha distilled or fractionated from crude as its main ingredient. Naptha has an octane rating of about 60. Its octane is raised through catalyst reactions and hydrotreating which involves high pressure hydrogen. I don't believe there will ever be a safe, effective, or practical way to do this on a small scale. I believe you could make a practical fuel, but it would be low octane and with lower compression and timing advance equipment would loose significant power and efficiency as a result.
 
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I can only think of two reasons to store gasoline long term.

1. As a hedge against future price increases. If so, there are easier ways to invest in that without physically possessing the gasoline via futures in RBOB gasoline.

2. As a hedge against future availability. The world will be a much different place if gasoline becomes unavailable and I don't think having yourself will do much good.

Interested to learn more about the chemistry, though.
 
Not much point in storing fuel unless you like tinfoil hats. If you want a large supply of fuel on hand that is always fresh the easiest way would be to get a 250 to 500 gallon tank and have fuel delivered. Fill your vehicles out of the tank all the time and it will always be rotating.
 
When gas was under $1.50 during the pandemic, I would have bought 20,000 gallons if I could store it for the next 20 years until EV's take over. Alas, that was not to be.
 
SumGuy said:
I don't know if it's ever been suggested to create a sub-forum for gasoline (or fuel liquids generally) but it would seem natural for this website.

Anyways, I was wondering if it was possible to alter retail pump-gasoline to render it suitable for long-term storage (ie 1 or more years). I know there are fuel stabilizer additives, the performance of which I don't know (please comment if you know). I was thinking re-distillation might remove the unstable components? I guess I'm looking for some hard-core chemistry theory here. Also, maybe the possibility to start with marine or aviation gasoline? Perhaps they are naturally more suitable for long-term storage with less preparation?

(how about adding "stabilize" and "gasoline" as usable tags?)
Click to expand...
Yes, redistilling gasoline would help. But then it would have to be reformulated. Gasoline is a mixture and the fractions will be separated during distillation.

Do you have the facilities to perform a vacuum distillation of a highly flammable liquid? Or was this just a rhetorical question?
 
atikovi said:
When gas was under $1.50 during the pandemic, I would have bought 20,000 gallons if I could store it for the next 20 years until EV's take over. Alas, that was not to be.
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How large a battery do you think you'll need to buy in order to store the relatively cheap electricity we have now compared to what we'll get in 20 years?
Personally, I'm thinking about raising horses. The original transportation system that runs on renewable fuel.
 
SumGuy said:
I don't know if it's ever been suggested to create a sub-forum for gasoline (or fuel liquids generally) but it would seem natural for this website.

Anyways, I was wondering if it was possible to alter retail pump-gasoline to render it suitable for long-term storage (ie 1 or more years). I know there are fuel stabilizer additives, the performance of which I don't know (please comment if you know). I was thinking re-distillation might remove the unstable components? I guess I'm looking for some hard-core chemistry theory here. Also, maybe the possibility to start with marine or aviation gasoline? Perhaps they are naturally more suitable for long-term storage with less preparation?

(how about adding "stabilize" and "gasoline" as usable tags?)
Click to expand...
Drums of Butanol for long term storage. Probably last way longer.
 
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