Welke kamerplanten zuiveren de lucht in huis? Geen enkele.
Zo wordt online in ieder geval vaak beweerd. Hier klopt alleen weinig van. Kamerplanten zijn fraai, maar ze doen weinig om de lucht binnenshuis te zuiveren, ...
Uit een van de onderzoeken bleek
De onderzoeken waarin werd geconcludeerd dat kleine kamerplanten een aantal gifstoffen uit de lucht konden halen, vonden plaats in laboratoria. Meestal werd een plant daarbij in een kleine ruimte gezet waarin zich ook gasmoleculen, zogenaamde ‘vluchtige organische stoffen’ (VOS) bevonden. <anchor>Uit een van de onderzoeken bleek</anchor> dat een gewone klimopplant binnen 24 uur twee derde van het formaldehyde uit de lucht kon verwijderen.
Formaldehyde removal by common indoor plant species and various growing media - ScienceDirect
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## Article preview

- [Abstract](#preview-section-abstract)
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- [References (63)](#preview-section-references)
- [Cited by (150)](#preview-section-cited-by)

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## [Atmospheric Environment](/journal/atmospheric-environment "Go to Atmospheric Environment on ScienceDirect")

[Volume 45, Issue 16](/journal/atmospheric-environment/vol/45/issue/16 "Go to table of contents for this volume/issue"), May 2011, Pages 2675-2682

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# Formaldehyde removal by common indoor plant species and various growing media

Author links open overlay panelAhuAydoganab, Lupita D.Montoyabc

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## Abstract

Three porous materials (growstone, expanded clay and activated carbon) were evaluated as [hydroponic](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/hydroponics "Learn more about hydroponic from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages") growing media and for their individual ability to remove the indoor [volatile organic compound](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/volatile-organic-compound "Learn more about volatile organic compound from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages") formaldehyde under three conditions: growing medium alone, dry medium in a pot, and wet medium in a pot. The total percent-reduction of formaldehyde by each growing media was evaluated over a 10-h period. In all cases, activated carbon achieved the highest removal under the three conditions studied with average percent reductions measured at about 98%. Four common interior plants: _[Hedera helix](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/hedera-helix "Learn more about Hedera helix from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages")_ (English ivy), _[Chrysanthemum morifolium](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/chrysanthemum-morifolium "Learn more about Chrysanthemum morifolium from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages")_ (pot mum), _[Dieffenbachia](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/dieffenbachia "Learn more about Dieffenbachia from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages")_ _compacta_ (dump cane) and _[Epipremnum](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/epipremnum "Learn more about Epipremnum from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages")_ _aureum_ (golden pathos) growing in growstone were then tested for their ability to remove formaldehyde. The removal capacity of the aerial plant parts (AP), the [root zone](/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/rhizosphere "Learn more about root zone from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages") (RZ) and the entire plant (EP) growing in growstone were determined by exposing the relevant parts to gaseous formaldehyde (∼2000 μg m−3) in a closed chamber over a 24-h period. The removal efficiency between species and plant parts were compared by determining the time interval required to decrease about 2/3 of the total formaldehyde concentration reduction, T2/3. The T2/3 measured were 23, 30, 34 and 56 min for EP of _C. morifolium, E. aureum, D. compacta and H. helix_, respectively. The [formaldehyde removal](/topics/engineering/formaldehyde-removal "Learn more about formaldehyde removal from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages") by the root zone was found to be more rapid than the removal by the aerial plant parts.

### Highlights

► The four plant species demonstrated similar abilities to remove formaldehyde. ► The T2/3 determined for each species was significantly different. ► Activated carbon showed highest formaldehyde removal under all conditions studied. ► All plant species showed faster uptake of formaldehyde under dark cycle conditions.

## Introduction

Concerns about poor indoor air quality (IAQ) have steadily increased since the early 1950’s when correlations between indoor air pollution, allergies and other chronic illnesses were first recognized (Randolph and Ralph, 1980, Weschler, 2009). Indoor air pollution (IAP) was further exacerbated by the energy crisis of 1973–74, when efforts to reduce energy consumption led to airtight buildings and the accumulation of indoor air (IA) pollutants. Over the past half century, poor IAQ has been attributed to factors including airtight buildings, changes in building materials and consumer products, poor ventilation and poor moisture control. Such factors have contributed to a renewed interest in green building practices (Harriman et al., 2001, Kibert, 2008, ASHRAE, 2009, Persily and Emmerich, 2010). In some metropolitan areas, IA has been found to be up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air posing health threats and negative economical consequences (Brown, 1997, Orwell et al., 2004, Fisk, 2000). Given that people in industrialized nations spend an average of 80–90% of their time indoors (Robinson and Nelson, 1995, Klepeis et al., 2001, USEPA, 2002), the possible effects of IAP have become an issue of international concern (Samet, 1993, Fisk, 2000, Mølhave and Krzyzanowski, 2003). Poor IAQ has been linked to a number of health symptoms and between 65,000 and 150,000 deaths per year in the USA alone (Lomborj, 2002). The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined a combined group of symptoms as the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), which include headache, nausea, dizziness, irritation of eyes, mucous membranes and the respiratory system, as well as drowsiness, fatigue, and general malaise (Kostiainen, 1995, Brasche et al., 1999). Additional impacts include decreases in work productivity and increases on medical expenses and the cost of poor indoor environmental quality has been estimated to be higher than space conditioning and ventilation energy costs (Seppanen and Fisk, 2006). An estimated average annual savings of 40–200 billion USD can be achieved by improving IAQ in the USA (Fisk, 2000).

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are the most important class of contaminants in the indoor environment (Wolkoff, 2003). VOCs originate from both outdoor and indoor sources, and indoor levels can often be 10 times higher than outdoors (Brown, 1997, Rehwagen et al., 2003, Zuskin et al., 2009). A wide range (254–900) of VOCs has been identified in the IA in addition to particulate matter and inorganic gases (USEPA, 1989, Yu and Crump, 1998, Edwards et al., 2001, Sullivan et al., 2001). Some indoor VOCs are toxic at high levels and some, like benzene and formaldehyde, have been shown to be carcinogenic (Godish, 2001, IARC, 2006, ATSDR, 2007, Nielsen and Wolkoff, 2010). People are exposed to environmental formaldehyde from wood-based products, wall coverings, rubber, paint, adhesives, lubricants, cosmetics, electronic equipment, and combustion (Zhang et al., 2009, Salthammer et al., 2010). The levels of formaldehyde generally decrease with the product’s age (Park and Ikeda, 2006, Chan et al., 2009) and in older homes, formaldehyde concentration levels have been found to be well below 0.125 mg m−3 (USEPA, 2007). These levels are close to the indoor limit of 0.1 mg m−3 (0.08 ppm) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO-ROE, 2006). Unfortunately, the U.S. still lacks national IAQ standards and governmental guidelines regarding indoor ambient formaldehyde exposure. Consequently, formaldehyde levels in recently deployed Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailers reached unsafe levels up to 1.2 ppm, resulting in sinus infections, burning sensation in the eyes, and a general feeling of illness (Babington, 2007, Hsu, 2008).

Over 35 years ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confronted health problems associated to poor IA in completely closed occupied systems in outer space, where more than 300 VOCs were detected within space vehicle environments. As a result, NASA researchers investigated the use of plants to reduce these indoor concentrations and maintain a safe and healthy personal breathing zone (Wolverton and Wolverton, 1993, Wolverton, 1996). Results from additional studies showed that plants effectively reduced levels of benzene, ammonia, formaldehyde, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (Godish and Guidon, 1989, Wolverton and Wolverton, 1993, Giese et al., 1994, Lohr and Pearson-Mims, 1996). Plants have also been shown to increase indoor relative humidity by releasing moisture into the air thus increasing the comfort level in sealed environments. Others have linked the use of plants with improved productivity and wellbeing (Lohr et al., 1996) and observed that indoor plants are beneficial for mental health (Kim et al., 2010). Using plants offers the potential advantage of being less expensive than specialized technological approaches to remediate poor IAQ (Wolverton, 1986a, Wolverton, 1986b, Darlington et al., 2001, Wood et al., 2002, NASA, 2007) and has been considered a feasible alternative to technology-based systems (Guieysse et al., 2008).

It has been previously demonstrated that formaldehyde (Kim et al., 2008) and other VOC (Wood et al., 2002, Orwell et al., 2004, Yoo et al., 2006) removal is due to biological action of plants and microorganisms. Plants have been shown to uptake air pollutants via their stomata during normal gas exchange (Schmitz et al., 2000) and various pollutants have been shown to be sequestered or degraded in situ or after transfer to other areas in the plant (Son et al., 2000). In addition to the stomata, the root zone has been shown to be an important contributor to the removal of VOCs (Yoo et al., 2006, Kim et al., 2008). Rhizosphere microorganisms, found in the growing media, have been identified as significant direct agents of VOCs removal (Wolverton and Wolverton, 1993, Wood et al., 2002, Orwell et al., 2004). Phytoremediation, defined as the use of plants to remove toxins from the air, water and soil, has been proposed as a cost effective and efficient way to improve IAQ (Liu et al., 2007). Kim et al., 2008 made simultaneous quantitative measurements of formaldehyde removal of _Fatsia japonica_ and _Ficus benjamina_ by the aerial plant parts and the root zone using potted plants. The only published study performed under hydroponic conditions examined benzene and n-hexane uptake of _Howea forsteriana, Spathiphyllum wallisii_ and _Dracaena deremensis_ using vermiculate as growing media (Wood et al., 2002).

This paper presents results of original research that examines formaldehyde uptake by three growing media (growstone, expanded clay and activated carbon) and four common indoor plants: _Hedera helix_, _Chrysanthemum. morifolium_, _Dieffenbachia. compacta_ and _Epipremnum. aureum_, under hydroponic conditions (using growstone). These are the first published measurements of HCHO removal for these four indoor plants under these conditions. The formaldehyde removal of individual plant (IP) parts (AP, RZ and EP) was also experimentally determined. In this study, formaldehyde was used as a model VOC contaminant but these methods can be applied to other VOCs. The goal of the present study was not to discriminate whether the removal of HCHO was due to a biological or physicochemical process, but to determine the overall rates of removal achieved by the four selected plant species and the growing media under specific conditions.

## Section snippets

## Test chamber

A clear glass chamber with dimensions of 61 × 30.5 × 40.6 cm and a wall thickness of 0.46 cm was used in these experiments. The removable top cover was made from Lexan (Curbell Plastics, Orchard Park, NY) and adhesive foam-rubber insulation tape was used to provide airtight seal on the top. A 12V DC fan (273-243, Radio Shack, Fort Worth, TX) inside the chamber promoted complete mixing. Room temperature was kept at 21°C ± 1 °C. Artificial lighting was provided by two 24-inch fluorescent bulbs

## Results and discussion

The chamber’s combined losses due to leakage, absorption, and chemical reactions with the chamber surfaces starting from an initial formaldehyde concentration of about 2000 μg m−3, were 9% and 13% for the first 5 and 10-h periods respectively. Kim et al. (2008) reported similar values for a 5-h period.

## Conclusions

Of the three growing media studied, activated carbon alone (AC) showed the highest formaldehyde removal at about 98% for a period of 10 h and exhibited a T2/3 of 6 min. The formaldehyde reductions for a 10-h period achieved by expanded clay and growstone in a pot under wet conditions, the better substrates for plant growth, were 62.6% and 62.3%, respectively. Their T2/3 for the same time period were estimated at 58 min and 53 min, respectively. The four plant species studied demonstrated

## Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ilgaz Akseli, Zhicheng Wei, Michael P. Allard, David Rangel, Philippe Baveye and Don VanSteele for their technical assistance. Thank you also to Mark Mistur and Anna Dyson for insight into the future application of this work. This work was partially supported by New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) and a Humanities, Art and Social Sciences (HASS) Fellowship from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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