Can bamboo charcoal effectively remove formaldehyde?

In fact, many people need to pay attention to the correct removal of formaldehyde after decorating their houses. Once the formaldehyde content exceeds the standard, it will have an impact on human health. Bamboo charcoal has a certain effect in removing formaldehyde, mainly because bamboo charcoal has adsorption capacity.

1. The formaldehyde content in a newly renovated house is quite high, and it usually takes some time before you can move in. In order to speed up the elimination of formaldehyde pollution, many people place their hopes on bamboo charcoal, which is said to have strong adsorption capabilities.

2. The so-called adsorption capacity of bamboo charcoal is mainly due to the fact that this amorphous carbon contains many microporous structures with sizes measured in microns. Just like water can seep into sand. Formaldehyde can penetrate into the pores of bamboo charcoal. However, apart from containing formaldehyde in its pores, bamboo charcoal does not have any special mechanism to restrict their freedom. Just as water can evaporate from sand, formaldehyde can also evaporate from bamboo charcoal.

3. Researchers who conducted experiments on the absorption of formaldehyde by bamboo charcoal pointed out that the adsorption of formaldehyde by activated charcoal is not stable, and is not even as tightly bound to water molecules. If the indoor air humidity is high, the absorbed water molecules will be more than the formaldehyde, and may even squeeze out the formaldehyde previously adsorbed on the bamboo charcoal. If some substances that can react with formaldehyde are added into the pores of bamboo charcoal to truly eliminate formaldehyde, the effect will be better. However, there is no such product yet.

4. In actual use, environmental conditions are changeable, and there is no way to determine whether bamboo charcoal has absorbed formaldehyde, so it is unknown whether the formaldehyde content in the room has been reduced.

5. In addition to bamboo charcoal, using green plants to treat formaldehyde will not be very effective. Formaldehyde is also harmful to plants. Plants that are sensitive to formaldehyde gas, such as bougainvillea, will be injured or even die in an environment with high formaldehyde concentration. This is because formaldehyde binds to superoxide dismutase in plant cells, rendering these key proteins inactive and further damaging the cell membrane structure.

6. Some plants have a stronger tolerance to formaldehyde and even have detoxification functions. These plants are regarded by many as magical herbs that can remove pollution. But the reality is that these plants have some "assembly lines" for removing formaldehyde. They react formaldehyde with specific chemicals to produce amino acids (such as serine), or directly turn it into carbonic acid and carbon dioxide, which then enter the material cycle and are used to make new sugars, fats or proteins.