gums are basically polymerization reactions caused by links forming between molecules much like the reactions to make plastics. Only in this case, the mechanism for molecular joining tends to involve the oxygen in the ethanol, as it tends to promote reactions. most things degrade by exposure to oxygen in air, but bringing the oxygen in as a liquid alcohol tends to have similar effect.
preservatives have been added to bread for decades called "free radical traps" that tie up the reactive free radicals, to protect the bread from degradation. BHA, BHT, and Vitamin E are free radical trap preservatives.
Similar preservatives can be added to gasoline in the form of products like Stabil. Personally, I have not had any good luck using Stabil, and the glue-like residue I routinely dig out of my carb fuel bowls tended to be colored red like Stabil. I quit using it and switched to some stuff called Seafoam which seems to work way better, as well as providing cleaning action for the fuel system. Wonderful stuff for a boat's fuel tank.
Alcohol also tends to absorb water from the air or a separated phase. I don't have much personal reason to think that is significant but others might shed more light there. I haven't investigated that aspect much, except to say that some people have added water to combustion engines on purpose to improve performance, so I would need some data to believe having a little water absorbed with the alcohol was such a bad thing.
next, ethanol shortens the life of many rubber fuel lines, primer bulbs etc to as short as one year on boats.
it also promotes corrosion of metal internals of engines.
And lastly, ethanol degrades fuel mileage almost to the extent that it is added.
It's use should be discontinued in my opinion.
Untreated gasoline without ethanol lasts easily for several years, while the ethanol stuff is hazardous within a year of storage. The one thing I do when using old ggasoline is run it through a fuel filter that I added to the fuel transfer hose. If you do that, and use up the gasoline quickly, you generally can get away with burning old gas in a vehicle.
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How to extend the useable life of gasoline?
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