The Solubility of Elemental Mercury Vapor in Water

Abstract

The solubility of mercury vapor in water has been measured by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometry over the temperature range of 5–60°C under atmospheric pressure. The aqueous solubility obeys Henry’s law at each temperature. The solubilities and the Henry coefficients are reported. From the solubility data, the heat of the solution of mercury vapor in water is found to be −5.3 kcal/mol. The relationship between the Henry coefficient, k, and the solution temperature, T, is expressed by logk=−1078×1⁄T+6.250. From this equation, the solubilities at 70–100°C are estimated. The solubility of the mercury vapor in sea water has also been measured over the temperature range of 5–30°C. A salting-out effect on the solubility is observed. The practical application of the aqueous solubility of the mercury vapor is discussed from the analytical point of view.

High-resolution measurements of elemental mercury in surface water for an improved quantitative understanding of the Baltic Sea as a source of atmospheric mercury

“…Since Hg 0 constitutes a less soluble (Sanemasa, 1975) gaseous substance, its transfer between water and air is controlled by molecular diffusion through the water-side laminar microlayer (Jähne and Haußecker, 1998;Liss, 1983) and thus by its diffusion coefficient in water. Here we use the diffusion coefficient recently measured in freshwater and in water of oceanic salinity (Kuss, 2014).…”

“…In addition, the actual wind speed measured in 2006 was higher than the climatological mean, which would account for an additional 20 % reduction in the annual emission rate. Also, the present study used the Henry's law constant of Andersson et al (2008) rather than that of Sanemasa (1975), as was the case in the previous study. This difference reduced Hg 0 ml by ∼ 8 % and thus the Hg 0 flux.…”

A new mechanism for atmospheric mercury redox chemistry: implications for the global mercury budget

“…As part of this work, we also introduce a new coupling of GEOSChem to a global 3-D ocean model (Y. X. to better interpret observed seasonal variations of atmospheric Hg in the context of both atmospheric chemistry and oceanic drivers of air-sea exchange . (Sanemasa, 1975), 1.1 × 10 −2 exp(2400(1/T − 1/298)) for O 3 (Jacob, 1986), 6.6 × 10 2 exp(5900(1/T − 1/298)) for HOCl (Huthwelker et al, 1995), and 1.4 × 10 6 for Hg II (HgCl 2 ; Lindqvist and Rodhe, 1985). The concentration of OH(aq) is estimated as given in the text.…”

Field Analysis of Mercury in Water, Sediment and Soil Using Static Headspace Analysis

“…The headspace can be sampled using a portable mercury vapor analyzer. The theory supporting static headspace measurement is governed by the solubility of elemental mercury vapor in water (Sanemasa, 1975). Henry's Law states that the concentration of the dilute solute in solution C,, is proportional to its concentration in the gas phase, C g , at equilibrium: Q(eq) = HC g(eq) where H is a proportionality factor called Henry's Law constant.…”

“…Henry's Law states that the concentration of the dilute solute in solution C,, is proportional to its concentration in the gas phase, C g , at equilibrium: Q(eq) = HC g(eq) where H is a proportionality factor called Henry's Law constant. The value for H depends on temperature, varying from 0.18 @ 5°C to 0.32 @ 25°C (Sanemasa, 1975).…”