The solubility of benzene (1) in seawater (2) at 298 K has been reported by the following workers:

These three determinations made by two methods agree within their experimental error of 8 to 10%. Each group of workers has also determined the solubility of benzene in pure water and obtained results within the same error of the value recommended in this volume. Therefore, the mean of the reported values, 0.135 g(1)/100 g s1n, is accepted as the recommended value at the indicated temperature and salinity. These studies measured solubility over a range of salinities. Mackay and Shiu and May et al. reported their data in terms of the Setschenow equation. Their values of K_s (0.1836 and 0.175 L/mol) indicate the same (within experimental error) dependence of solubility on salinity and may be used to interpolate solubilities at other salinities up to 200 g salts/kg s1n.

Brown et al. (ref 1) determined the solubility of benzene in seawater at a salinity of 34.42 g salts/kg s1n over the temperature range 273 to 293 K. Linear extrapolation by the evaluator of these results to 298 K gives a value of 0.127 g(1)/100 g s1n. This suggests that the results of Brown et al. may be slightly low.

Since the solubility of seawater (1) and benzene (2) has been reported only by Umano and Hayano (ref 5), no critical evaluation is possible. The interested reader is referred to the relevant data sheet, which is included with the preceding benzene-water system.