Formaldehyde
In nutrient-
enriched seawater, there is a long lag period (40 hours) prior to measurable loss of formaldehyde by
presumably biological processes. Formaldehyde in aqueous effluent is degraded by activated sludge
and sewage in 4872 hours. In a die-away test, using water from a stagnant lake, degradation was
complete in 30 hours under aerobic conditions and 48 hours under anaerobic conditions.
Bhattacharya and Parkin used anaerobic chemostats to study fate and kinetic effects of sludge and
continuous additions of formaldehyde to acetate and propionate enrichment systems. The high
reduction of formaldehyde with continuous addition is indicative of biodegradation, since the
combination of volatilization, adsorption, and chemical transformation should account for less than
25% of the removal. Up to 80% of the formaldehyde was removed, with biodegradation accounting
for 5560%.
Sediment and Soil
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