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Henry’s law constant for phosphine in seawater: determination and assessment of influencing factors

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Abstract

The Henry’s Law constant (k) for phosphine in seawater was determined by multiple phase equilibration combined with headspace gas chromatography. The effects of pH, temperature, and salinity on k were studied. The k value for phosphine in natural seawater was 6.415 at room temperature (approximately 23°C). This value increases with increases in temperature and salinity, but no obvious change was observed at different pH levels. At the same temperature, there was no significant difference between the k for phosphine in natural seawater and that in artificial seawater. This implies that temperature and salinity are major determining factors for k in marine environment. Double linear regression with Henry’s Law constants for phosphine as a function of temperature and salinity confirmed our observations. These results provide a basis for the measurement of trace phosphine concentrations in seawater, and will be helpful for future research on the status of phosphine in the oceanic biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Mei Fu  (付梅), Zhiming Yu  (俞志明), Guangyuan Lu  (卢光远) & Xiuxian Song  (宋秀贤)

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Mei Fu  (付梅) & Guangyuan Lu  (卢光远)

Authors
  1. Mei Fu  (付梅)
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  2. Zhiming Yu  (俞志明)
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  3. Guangyuan Lu  (卢光远)
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  4. Xiuxian Song  (宋秀贤)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiuxian Song  (宋秀贤).

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30970522, 40576058) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Creative Research Groups (No. 41121064)

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Fu, M., Yu, Z., Lu, G. et al. Henry’s law constant for phosphine in seawater: determination and assessment of influencing factors. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 31, 860–866 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-013-2212-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-013-2212-1

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