SOLUBILITY OF HYDROCARBONS IN SEAWATER
Concern about pollution of the oceans has stimulated mea-
surements of the solubility of organic compounds in seawater.
This table gives the solubility of several hydrocarbons in seawa-
ter. The data are derived from a review in the IUPAC Solubility
Data Series (Reference 1).
Solubility is expressed in this table as parts per million by
mass, i.e.,
S/ppm(mass) = 10
6
× w
2
= 10
6
× m
2
/(m
1
+ m
2
)
where m
1
and
m
2
are the masses of solvent (seawater) and sol-
ute, respectively, under saturation conditions, and w
2
is the mass
fraction. Since the solubilities in this table are very low, the value
of S is effectively the mass of hydrocarbon in grams per 1000 kg
of seawater.
The temperature and salinity of each measurement are given in
the table. Salinity is a standardized measure of the concentration
of dissolved salts, as explained in the table “Properties of Seawater”
in Section 14. Salinity values in the open oceans at mid-latitude
typically fall between 34 and 36.
Reference 1 gives details of the method of measurement and an
indication of the reliability of the measurements.
Reference
1. Shaw, David G., and Maczynski, A., IUPAC-NIST Solubility Data
Series 81. Hydrocarbons with Water and Seawater — Revised and
Updated. Part 12. C
5
-C
26
Hydrocarbons with Seawater, J. Phys. Chem.
Ref. Data 35, 785, 2006.
Name
Mol. Form. Salinity t/°C
S/ppm (mass)
Acenaphthene
C
12
H
10
35
15
0.21
Acenaphthene
C
12
H
10
35
25
1.8
Anthracene
C
14
H
10
35
25
0.031
Benz[a]anthracene
C
18
H
12
35
25
0.0056
Benzene
C
6
H
6
34.4
0
1320
Benzene
C
6
H
6
35
25
1360
Benzo[ghi]perylene
C
22
H
12
6
25
0.00021
Benzo[a]pyrene
C
20
H
12
6
25
0.00013
Benzo[e]pyrene
C
20
H
12
30
25
0.0033
Benzo[b]triphenylene
C
22
H
14
6
25
0.027
Biphenyl
C
12
H
10
35
25
4.76
Butylbenzene
C
10
H
14
34.5
25
7.1
sec-Butylbenzene
C
10
H
14
34.5
25
12
tert-Butylbenzene
C
10
H
14
34.5
25
21
Chrysene
C
18
H
12
35
25
0.0011
Dibenz[a,h]anthracene C
22
H
14
6
25
0.021
Dibenz[a,j]anthracene
C
22
H
14
6
25
0.010
Dodecane
C
12
H
26
35
25
0.0029
Eicosane
C
20
H
42
35
25
0.0008
Ethylbenzene
C
8
H
10
34.4
0
140
Ethylbenzene
C
8
H
10
34.4
10
129
Ethylbenzene
C
8
H
10
34.4
25
111
Fluoranthene
C
16
H
10
35
25
0.124
9H-Fluorene
C
13
H
10
35
25
1.2
Heptane
C
7
H
16
6
25
10.3
Hexacosane
C
26
H
54
35
25
0.0001
Hexadecane
C
16
H
34
35
25
0.0004
Hexane
C
6
H
14
35.3
25
7.9
Isopropylbenzene
C
9
H
12
34.5
25
43
2-Methylanthracene
C
15
H
12
35
25
0.013
Methylcyclopentane
C
6
H
12
34.5
25
29
1-Methylnaphthalene
C
11
H
10
30
25
23
1-Methylphenanthrene C
15
H
12
35
25
0.20
Naphthalene
C
10
H
8
35
25
22.8
Nonane
C
9
H
20
6
25
0.43
Octadecane
C
18
H
38
35
25
0.0008
Pentane
C
5
H
12
34.5
25
28
Phenanthrene
C
14
H
10
34
25
0.69
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