Biodegradable porous adsorbent for efficient formaldehyde removal from indoor air

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Indoor formaldehyde exposure is a significant health concern.
• Effective and sustainable removal methods are needed.
• Current solutions may be costly or lack biodegradability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a biodegradable, cost-effective porous adsorbent for formaldehyde removal.
• To enhance adsorption performance using functional groups.
• To evaluate the adsorbent's efficiency, reusability, and biodegradability.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a composite adsorbent using alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, and attapulgite.
• Incorporation of polyethyleneimine to introduce amino functional groups.
• Characterization of adsorption capacity, kinetics, isotherms, reusability, and biodegradability.

Main Results:

• The adsorbent achieved a formaldehyde adsorption capacity of 2.31 mg/g at 7 wt% polyethyleneimine.
• Adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Sips model, indicating chemisorption and physisorption.
• The adsorbent retained 94.29% capacity after 4 cycles and showed 49% decomposition in 30 days.

Conclusions:

• The developed adsorbent is a sustainable and high-performance solution for indoor formaldehyde removal.
• Its cost-effectiveness and biodegradability offer advantages over traditional adsorbents.
• The material shows strong potential for practical air purification applications.