I saw a mid-covid video back when gasoline prices were soaring of someone dumping gallons of gasoline in a giant plastic tub (to save money or something) but people in the comments claimed it would fall apart. I searched it up and gasoline does break down plastic but I can’t figure out why. Is it because they’re both carbon chains or something?
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Have you ever heard “like dissolves like”? That’s what’s happening here!
Your guess was basically correct: gasoline is a solvent and a hydrocarbon, and ordinary plastics also contain hydrocarbons which the gasoline will dissolve.
Plastic is not one material it is a type of material. Some plastics are dissolved by gasoline but others are not. You can purchase gas cans made of plastic. There is a flexible fuel bladder too that can be used to store gasoline.
The problem is if you take a plastic that can’t handle gasoline, it might not be directly dissolved but weaken over time. There can be a lot of differences in how different plastics handle different chemicals. If you have acetone test a bit on it on ABS plastic and you can quickly see the result. Acetone is commonly sole in small quantities in plastic bottles, the have a plastic that can handle it.
Plastic gas cans are often made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) which is quite thick and sturdy. Milk jugs are made of HDPE too, the problem is they are quiet things and gasoline can make them a bit brittle, so they are a lot easier to break. They are also not sturdy enough to handle expansion from thermal expansion that can happen. It is not just a question of material but one of container design.
A plastic tub will be terrible regardless of the material. If you fill a container at a gas station the question is how you transport it.
Gasoline gives off flammable fumes, a space can ignite it so a tube is a bad idea if it is in a car. There is a very high risk of you needing to quickly break and gasoline splash all over the place. You should use containers design to handle flammable liquid when you transport it.
Gasoline can dissolve some plastics. Gasoline can not dissolve some other plastics. My gas can in my garage is plastic.
In Science we’re told that an element will also want to be with another element that shares its ‘life-cycle’. Now because gasoline and plastic are chronologically related, or that they share a life-cycle. Plastic has been gasoline, gasoline may one day turn into plastic, etc… What’s occurring then in a plastic container with gasoline has been compared to human feelings of nostalgia, and i think that’s sweet.
I hope that’s answered your question!
You can think of many forms of plastic as “frozen gasoline”, that is, something chemically similar to gasoline (hydrocarbon macromolecule) but in solid form. In these cases, “like dissolves like”.
You need the *right* type of plastic if you want to use it to store gasoline. Buy an approved container, or be sorry later.
And, by the way, it’s not a really good idea to store large quantities of gas. First off, it’s a huge risk, unless done very carefully. And second, gasoline requires stabilizers to keep it effective. Especially ones that have ethanol as part of the formula, because the ethanol will absorb water which is bad for combustion (and your engine), and will eventually separate out.
You can fight this degradation to a small extent, by adding after-market stabilizers (e.g., STA-BIL) to the gas, but this may only extend the useful lifetime a year (perhaps two).
Just something worth mentioning here: you really shouldn’t be storing gasoline in *any* container that is not specifically made for it, reguardless of what material it is made out of. For several reasons:
Gas containers are specifically designed to prevent spills, leaks, and tipping. Much moreso than most other containers. They’re also designed to take a fair bit more abuse than most containers.
Gasoline slowly vaporizes over time. Storing it in a sealed, air tight container for a long period of time can lead to a dangerous pressure buildup. Gas containers typically have vents that prevent this from happening.
You should never store gasoline in any container that will later be used to contain water or other fluids meant for human consumption. It greatly increases the risk of accidentally ingesting harmful chemicals that may still be present, even after cleaning.
Almost all the gas cans I have seen were made of plastic. So gas can be stored in plastic but prolly not Tupperware.
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