Louis J Kirschenbaum, Ben Ruekberg
A method of estimating the solubility of water in hydrocarbons as a function of temperature is given here. Hydrocarbons, lacking strong permanent dipoles or traditional hydrogen bonding, do not strongly attract water molecules. The extreme case of a medium bereft of attractive forces is a vacuum, into which water, nonetheless, evaporates. The solubility of water in hydrocarbons at various temperatures can be correlated to the vapor pressure of water at those temperatures. A simple thermodynamic explanation of the dependence on vapor pressure is offered.
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