[rant]dammit i am SO f-ing sick and tired of RCU dumping my posts. I really need to copy and past before posting. I had a big, detailed post and it dumped [/rant]

Anyway, here we go again. I will try to sum up.

Ethanol was added to gasoline because MTBE contaminates groundwater and is carcinogenic. It also provided up to 30% of the energy in gasoline. Ethanol was added to replace the energy, raise the octane rating, while being somewhat environmentally friendly.

E10 Gasoline is not a mixture 10% ethanol into a homogeneous mixture of same-length carbon chains of "gasoline". It is a diverse mixture of multiple-length organic molecules containing both polar (read "water-soluble") and non-polar molecules (most long-chain organic molecules). "Gasoline" from the gas station already (before ethanol is added) contains enough polar molecules to allow it to absorb ~13% water by weight.

If we try to separate ethanol from raw stock gas by simply mixing water into it and overwhelm the polar molecules, we will remove many other chemicals as well. The remaining two immiscible fluids are in effect 1) a water-based solution containing a high concentration of ethanol, many detergents, and anti-knock chemicals, and 2) a non-polar organic solution of several long carbon chain molecules.

The ethanol solution is a solvent and is corrosive to paint, fiberglass, aluminum, etc. The ethanol also acts to increase octane.

The remaining organic phase contains the long chain aromatic hydrocarbon molecules from the original gasoline, but lacks the detergents, anti-knock additives, and will be at least several numbers lower in octane rating.

If we burn the remaining gas (in model airplanes) we are probably OK. However it won't burn as cleanly as the raw stock.

Now what to do with the remainder? You are on your own. I will say that if you just dump it on the ground or in the sewer you are facing $tiff fine$$ containing MANY zeroes because the mixture is not pure ethanol. They would probably fine you anyway if it was pure ethanol...

If somebody wants to purchase ethanol-free gas, check with a local marina or farm supply store. Both are able to purchase the raw fuel before the ethanol is added (the tanker drive actually mixes the ethanol when delivering the fuel to the gas station).

Want to know the very best way to remove ethanol from gasoline? CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR!