MEASUREMENT OF HENRYS LAW CONSTANT AS FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE AND SALINITY FOR THE LOW-TEMPERATURE RANGE

EPICS technique (Equilibrium Partitioning In Closed Systems) was Further developed to study the gas-water equilibrium partitioning (Henry's law) of C-1 and C-2 organochlorines and monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the low temperature range. Using this technique Henry's law constant was measured for 13 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at the temperature range from 2 up to 25 degrees C, and for salt concentrations from 0.0 up to 35.0 ppt (parts per thousand, kg m(-3)). The data obtained at 25 degrees C, which could be compared, fit well with literature data. A double linear regression was made with Henry's law constant H as a function of the temperature and salinity. This relationship confirmed theoretical considerations. A comparison between H-values obtained for natural sea water and for artificial sea water were in most cases not significantly different, while the few significant differences did not seem to have a systematic deviation. This implies that for marine environments salinity and temperature are the main determining factors for Henry's law constants of VOCs and are sufficient to describe them.