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Microbes to clean indoor pollutants

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Abstract

Formaldehyde is a dangerous indoor pollutant which is introduced in house by common objects such as furniture. Effective microorganisms have the very interesting ability to degrade some pollutants. Here, we tested the removal of formaldehyde and aromatic aldehydes using effective microorganisms including yeast, lactic acid bacteria, and photosynthetic bacteria. Formaldehyde was quantified by GC–MS of formaldehyde dinitrophenylhydrazone. Other aldehydes were analyzed by GC–MS. Results show that effective microorganisms remove 70–100 % of formaldehyde, benzaldehyde, and 4-methylbenzaldehyde in about a week. Experiments on chipboard panels indicate the possibility to decrease the amount of formaldehyde emission by furniture. This is the first report on the removal of formaldehyde by effective microorganisms, to our best knowledge.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thank REGEA Srl (Gubbio, Italy) and Alma Mater Studiorum–Università di Bologna (RFO funds) for financial support and Mrs. Yurie Orimoto (Punto EM srl) for a gift of effective microorganisms, gray ceramic tubes, and molasses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Chemistry, University of Bologna, Viale Del Risorgimento, 40136, Bologna, Italy

    Carla Boga & Luciano Forlani

  2. Via Predosa 18/2, Zola Predosa, BO, Italy

    Erminia Del Vecchio

  3. Via Reposati, 06024, Gubbio, PG, Italy

    Mario Franceschetti

Authors
  1. Carla Boga
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  2. Erminia Del Vecchio
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  3. Luciano Forlani
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  4. Mario Franceschetti
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Correspondence to Luciano Forlani.

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Boga, C., Del Vecchio, E., Forlani, L. et al. Microbes to clean indoor pollutants. Environ Chem Lett 12, 429–434 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-014-0465-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-014-0465-3

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