title: Foliar uptake and translocation of formaldehyde with Bracket plants (Chlorophytum comosum).
abstract: The foliar uptake and transport of formaldehyde into Bracket plants from air via leaves and roots to external water was investigated in an air-plant-water system. The results indicated that formaldehyde could be quickly taken up by plant tissues, and that formaldehyde accumulated in leaves could be released rapidly back into air when the formaldehyde level in air was diminished. This rapid reversible translocation of formaldehyde between plant leaves and air resulted in high formaldehyde concentrations in leaf dews, depending upon exposure levels of formaldehyde in air. Meanwhile, formaldehyde could be transported from air to plant rhizosphere solution through downward transport. The concentration of formaldehyde in rhizosphere solutions increased with exposure time and the formaldehyde level in air. The efficiency of the leaf extracts to break down formaldehyde increased, probably because of an increase in oxidative potential of the leaf extracts. Taken together, the main mechanism of formaldehyde loss in air can be attributed to the accumulation by (or breakdown in) plant tissues; the removal rate of formaldehyde from air reached 135 μg h(-1) plant(-1) in the experimental condition.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Engineer, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China; Academy of Institute of Xinjiang Product Quality Inspection, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Yuhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment Remediation and Ecological Health, College of Environmental & Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: ycliang@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yongchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001692:Biological Transport; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019668:Liliaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism*; D058441:Rhizosphere; D036226:Seedlings / Q000378:metabolism; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D005557:Formaldehyde
keywords: Foliar uptake; Formaldehyde; Phytoremediation; Rhizosphere; Transport; Volatilization