Fuel Permeation Performance of Polymeric Materials Analyzed by Gas Chromatography and Sorption Techniques

This paper describes the results of permeation and sorption tests conducted to assess the properties of several plastic materials as barriers to fuel. The materials examined include ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH), nylon, high density polyethylene, polyketone, poly-vinyledene fluoride (PVDF) as well as tetra-fluoro-ethylene, hexa-fluoro-propylene and vinyledene fluoride terpolymers (THV). The permeation from thin films of these materials exposed to methanol or CM15 was analyzed (speciated) by gas chromatography. These results are compared to those of parallel sorption experiments conducted on the same materials. The goal of this work is to determine the materials best suited for fuel barrier applications.