Solubility of organic compoundS in preSSurized hot water
Liquid water at elevated temperatures and pressures, but still
in the subcritical region, is of interest as a solvent in various labo-
ratory and industrial processes. In effect, this means water at a
temperature between about 100°C and 373°C, the critical temper-
ature, and at pressures up to 400 bar or greater. Since the dielec-
tric constant of water decreases with increasing temperature, the
solubility of many compounds, especially non-polar compounds,
increases dramatically at higher temperature. The fact that solu-
bility can be fine-tuned by controlling temperature and pressure
makes pressurized hot water a useful tool in various extraction
and reaction processes.
This table gives a sample of the variations of solubility with tem-
perature and pressure for several compounds, mostly hydrocar-
bons. The solubility is expressed in both mole fraction of solute,
x
2
, and mass percent, 100w
2
, where w
2
is the mass fraction. More
information is available in the references.
references
1. Solubility Data Series, International Union of Pure and Applied
Chemistry, Vol. 38, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1988.
2. Shaw, D. G., and Maczynski, A., J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 35, 687,
2006.
3. Stephenson, R. M., J. Chem. Eng. Data 37, 80, 1992.
4. Lun, R., Varhanickova, D., Shiu, W.-Y., and Mackay, D., J. Chem. Eng.
Data 42, 951, 1997.
5. Miller, D. J., et al., J. Chem. Eng. Data 43, 1043, 1998.
6. Miller, D. J., and Hawthorne, S. B., J. Chem. Eng. Data 45, 78, 2000.
7. Ma, J. H. Y., Hung, H., Shiu, W-Y., and Mackay, D., J. Chem. Eng. Data
46, 619, 2001.
8. Marche, C., Ferronato, C., and Jose, J., J. Chem. Eng. Data 48, 967,
2003.
9. Oleszek-Kudlak, S., Shibata, E., and Nakamura, T., J. Chem. Eng. Data
49, 570, 2004.
10. Marche, C., Ferronato, C., and Jose, J., J. Chem. Eng. Data 49, 937,
2004.
11. Andersson, T. A., Hartonen, K. M., and Riekkola, M-L., J. Chem. Eng.
Data 50, 1177, 2005.
12. Karasek, P., Planeta, J., and Roth, M., J. Chem. Eng. Data 51, 616,
2006.
13. Shiu, W.-Y., and Ma, K.-C, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 29, 41, 2000.
Name
Mol. Form. t/°C p/bar
Solubility
Ref.
10
3
x
2
Mass%
Acenaphthene
C
12
H
10
25
1
0.000444
0.000380
13
250
50
1.25
1.06
11
Anthracene
C
14
H
10
25
1
0.0000074
0.0000044
2
50
50
0.000017
0.000017
5
100
45
0.00032
0.00032
5
100
39
0.000457
0.00045
12
150
50
0.0102
0.0101
11
200
77
0.13
0.13
12
250
50
0.497
0.49
11
300 100
3.78
3.62
11
Benz[a]anthracene
C
18
H
12
25
1
0.00000073
0.00000093
2
60
50
0.00000846
0.0000107
12
100
50
0.000113
0.000143
12
120
52
0.000418
0.00053
12
150
49
0.00296
0.00375
12
Benzene
C
6
H
6
25
1
0.40
0.178
13
25
65
0.40
0.173
6
25 400
0.33
0.143
6
50
65
0.47
0.203
6
100
65
0.89
0.38
6
150
65
2.2
0.95
6
200
65
5.0
2.13
6
200 400
4.1
1.75
6
Carbazole
C
12
H
9
N
25
1
0.00013
0.00012
5
25
54
0.00011
0.000102
5
50
56
0.00045
0.00042
5
100
54
0.0099
0.0092
5
150
54
0.162
0.150
5
200
52
1.9
1.74
5
Chrysene
C
18
H
12
25
1
0.00000016
0.00000019
2
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