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Originally Posted by rotorwrench
Nitrile rubber also know as Buna-N or Butadiene was developed before WWII for use in seals and o-rings for petroleum products and aeromatic hydrocarbons or fuels. It is still used for some applications in aviation but has been slowly replaced by fluorocarbon and fluorosilicone elastomers with the latter being most common for fuels. These types have over 20-year shelf life capability so the change over in aviation was for that reason. Fluorocarbon elastomer is also known as Viton as a trade name but patents expired years ago.
Cork gaskets are generally granulated pieces of cork bonded together by some form of elastomer so not all cork gaskets are good fuel gaskets. Neoprene or polychloroprene is an elastomer that is very hard and durable after it has been vulcanized. It's good for oils, alcohols, and a few other mild solvents but not so good with modern gasolene. If the cork is bonded with neoprene then it may not last long. If it's bonded with nitrile rubber then it should be OK. The problem is that it is difficult to tell what the bond material is since they both look alike.
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I'm not a scientist, all I know is that I tried the neoprene gaskets sold by Snyders and others. A year later they started leaking. I replaced them with cork, don't know what the composition was. Probably lucked out and got good ones. That was several years ago. They haven't leaked. Just my experience.