EQUILIBRIUM PARTITIONING OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS FROM COAL-TAR INTO WATER

Partitioning of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from eight coal tar samples into water was measured. The measured partition coefficients were used to evaluate a model derived using Raoult's law convention for activity coefficients and hypothetical supercooled liquid solubilities. Our analysis suggests that the extent of deviations from "ideal" behavior for coal tar-water partitioning is sufficiently small, similar to earlier reports for gasoline-water and diesel-water partitioning of PAHs. The concentrations of PAHs in groundwater in equilibrium with these complex wastes, estimated from the model presented, may be considered as a reasonable approximation for most field-scale applications. The likely reasons for deviations from the ideal behavior are discussed, as are sources of analytical and computational errors.