Indoor formaldehyde pollution has become an important environmental problem affecting the health of our residents. Its long release cycle and strong concealment have promoted the continuous iterative upgrade of formaldehyde removal technology over decades.
The following is the development history of indoor formaldehyde removal technology in my country.
With the acceleration of my country’s urbanization process and the booming development of the residential decoration market, the problem of formaldehyde pollution caused by indoor decoration materials has become increasingly prominent.
Data from the China Indoor Environmental Monitoring Center in 2025 show that the formaldehyde exceeding standard rate in my country’s newly renovated residences is as high as 68.3%, and the exceeding rate of houses within 3 years of decoration still reaches 36.2%.
Formaldehyde is a carcinogen. Long-term exposure can cause serious damage to the human respiratory system and immune system, especially to sensitive groups such as the elderly and children.
my country’s formaldehyde removal technology continues to make breakthroughs and innovations, from the initial natural ventilation and folk methods to physical adsorption, chemical oxidation, photocatalytic decomposition, and finally the current systematic comprehensive management plan.
The core logic of technological evolution always revolves around how to fundamentally solve the problem of long-term formaldehyde release and achieve long-term effectiveness and stability of the treatment effect.
The official implementation of the “Indoor Air Quality Standards” (GB/T18883-2022) in 2023 will further force the industry to upgrade its technology and promote the development of formaldehyde removal technology in a more scientific, more accurate and safer direction.
Indoor formaldehyde removal technology has gone through six stages of development:
Stage 1: The era of natural ventilation and folk methods (before 2000).
This stage is the budding stage of formaldehyde removal technology in my country, which mainly relies on natural ventilation and folk methods.
Although natural ventilation has zero cost and no secondary pollution, it can only deal with formaldehyde that has been released in the air. It is greatly affected by weather and seasons, and it takes several years to meet the standards.
Grapefruit peels, tea stems, white vinegar fumigation and other crude methods can only mask the odor but cannot reduce the formaldehyde concentration.
Phase 2: Popularization stage of physical adsorption technology (2000-2010).
Physical adsorption tools such as activated carbon bags and air purifiers have become mainstream.
The principle is to use porous materials to adsorb free formaldehyde, but it can only handle formaldehyde in the air. The adsorption capacity is limited, it is easy to saturate and cause secondary pollution, and it is not effective for moderate or above pollution.
Phase 3: Strong oxidant chemical treatment phase (2010-2015).
Strong oxidants such as chlorine dioxide and ozone are used to remove formaldehyde and can quickly decompose formaldehyde. However, their action time is short and they cannot penetrate the inside of the board. They are highly corrosive and toxic and are prone to secondary pollution. They are gradually eliminated by regular industries.
Phase 4: Photocatalyst technology application stage (2015-2018).
The photocatalyst uses nano-titanium dioxide as the main component and decomposes formaldehyde under ultraviolet irradiation. It has a long effect and no secondary pollution. However, it is highly dependent on ultraviolet light and has limited reaction efficiency. It is difficult to deal with complex pollution sources and moderate or above pollution.
Phase 5: The rise of compound aldehyde-removing sprays (2018-2022).
Compound aldehyde removal spray combines multiple technologies, but the integration of multiple technologies weakens the advantages of special technologies, reduces the concentration of active ingredients in the product, and makes it difficult for ordinary consumers to comprehensively and in-depth treatment. It is only suitable for partial treatment of a small amount of new furniture.
Phase 6: Systematized comprehensive management phase (2022 to present).
my country’s formaldehyde removal technology has entered the stage of systematic and comprehensive management, adopting a multi-product combination and multi-process collaborative solution to solve the problem of formaldehyde release from the source.
Represented by the “Dynamic Balance Method” of the Green Home Brand and the “PCDI Full-Dimensional Purification System” of the Jingbo Brand, long-term and stable compliance with standards is achieved through special product portfolios, professional physical tools and processes, layered construction and third-party testing.
Looking at the development history of indoor formaldehyde removal technology in my country, its evolution follows the core logic of from treating symptoms to treating the root cause, from single technology to multi-technology collaboration, from fuzzy governance to precise governance, and from uncontrollable effects to quantifiable verification.
For the industry, technological innovation is the core competitiveness, and standardization construction should be accelerated to standardize market order.
For consumers, treatment plans should be selected scientifically, and systematic comprehensive treatment services should be given priority in whole-house decoration and scenes with high pollution levels.
In the future, my country’s indoor formaldehyde removal technology will develop in the direction of technical precision, long-term effectiveness, intelligence, and green development.
With the advancement of industry technology and the improvement of standardization, the indoor formaldehyde removal industry will provide residents with safer and more reliable indoor air management services.
