Technical Committee HSE

Determination of the Solubility of Polycyclic Aromati

The classification of German crude oils into Water Hazard Classes (WGK) by the Commission for the Evaluation of Substances Hazardous to Waters (KBwS) requires data about the elution potential of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) into water.

The solubility of PAH from crude oils in water was determined by a test method, which has already been applied in the DGMK research projects 556 „Water Pollution Potential of Mineral Oils with High Content of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Heavy Fuel Oil and Neutral Oil Extracts)“ and 636 “Determination of the Solubility of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) from Light Heating Oil in Water”.

For nine German crude oils with different viscosities and origin the solubility in the water phase was determined for the PAH specified by the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV). The determined values fall short of the defined limit values for



benzo[a]pyrene


0.01 µg / l






and for the sum of benzo[b]fluoroanthene, benzo[k]fluoroanthene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, benzo[ghi]perylene


0.1 µg / l



for all the samples.