[Observational study of formaldehyde in air, rain and fog water at a site on the Mangdang Mountain of Fujian, China].

ABSTRACT

Through 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, the levels of formaldehyde in ambient air, rain and fog samples were measured in Mangdang Mountain, Fujian Province, from March to April 2009. The average concentrations of formaldehyde in ambient air, rain and fog are 4.0 x 10(-10), 2.19 micromol/L and 2.94 micromol/L, respectively. Based on previous researches, this study described formaldehyde hydrolysis and reacting with S(IV) and other chemical reaction processes in liquid phase, explaining the phenomenon that the solubility of formaldehyde in the liquid phase is higher than the theoretical value. On-site measured Henry coefficients (Hme) and the effective Henry coefficients (H*) were derived from concentration of formaldehyde in ambient air, rain and fog samples and references. Comparing Hme and H*, this study found that the measured liquid phase concentrations of formaldehyde are higher than the theoretical concentrations, consistent with the references. The further founding is that Hme/H* in fog is higher than in rain, proving the result of Mangdang Mountain that the concentration of formaldehyde in fog is higher than in rain. Considering the climatic characteristics of Mangdang Mountain in spring, the wet deposition of formaldehyde is an important way in this area.