Investigation of the Oil-Products Solubility in Water: Qualitative Composition and Quantitative Limits of the Oil-Water Mixtures

Abstract

Gasoline—water mixtures have been investigated using UV-spectrophoto-metry. It was found that such mixtures can be characterized with two absorption bands. The first one is located within wavelengths from 180 to 230 nm and the second is located within 240–280 nm. The first absorption band is very intense and cannot be used for any analytical determination while the second one exhibits distinct dependence on the gasoline concentration. Calibration diagrams have been built in the coordinates: optical density vs gasoline concentration for the UV-light absorption peak at 260 nm. Assumption on the qualitative composition of the gasoline—water mixtures has been made basing on the pattern and the peaks distribution along the light absorption spectra. It has also been found that the maximum concentration of the relatively soluble gasoline components reaches approximately 0.35 g/l. However, higher concentrations can be achieved at longer contacting between gasoline and water.