I have an aluminium MSR brand 1L fuel bottle designed for transported
fuels. For the last ten years, it's been half full of methylated
spirits. Recently, when opening for the first time in sunlight, I
noticed that the interior walls of the bottle had spots of brightly
fluorescing green gel stuck to them. The methylated spirit itself was
glowing slightly and was somewhat cloudy. The gel was loose and a
little came out when I poured out some metho.

For curiosity's sake, what could be causing this phenomenon?

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Clarification of Question by jtadvisor-ga on 22 May 2004 20:53 PDT

- To clarify: the 1 litre bottle is designed for transporting fuels
for camping and the like.

- And the fluorescing effect is very bright - bright enough to impress
my very unscientifically-inclined mother!

algea will grow in petroleum products,this is a problem for truckers
who buy old fuel