ABSTRACT
An apparatus is described for measuring the solubility of hydrocarbons in sea water and for analyzing hydrocarbons in water-extracts. The relative concentrations of the hydrocarbons in the gas phase in equilibrium with the water extract were determined by gas chromatography. A known volume of the gas phase was purged out from the apparatus and replaced with helium. The concentration of the hydrocarbons were measured after the second equilibration. The solubility of the hydrocarbon solutes in the sea water extract were determined from the peak area ratios of the solute peaks and the volume of the apparatus.
Complex mixtures of hydrocarbons in aqueous solutions may be analyzed using this apparatus by examining the chromatograms obtained after each flush out. The peaks are identified as to hydrocarbon group (olefinic, aromatic, paraffinic) from the rate that the solute peak area decreases after each flush out. Overlapping peaks may be resolved using this technique. By extrapolating peak areas to zero flush out, the concentration of each solute in the original extract may be obtained. The analysis of a non-lead gasoline in sea water is presented.
This work was supported by the Office of Marine Technology, Maritime Administration, as part of their joint project “Fate and Effects of Oil in the Seas.”