New research shows that houseplants can dramatically improve indoor air quality, as they are useful in removing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from room air, which is known as the pollutant associated with respiratory diseases and usually caused by burning fuels.
effective solution
The new study, published in Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, shows that simple houseplants that can be purchased at relatively affordable prices can be an effective solution when it comes to reducing nitrogen oxide levels in both homes and offices. whether.
As Science Alert reports, the researchers selected peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii), corn (Dracaena fragrans) and fern (Zamioculcas zamiifolia).
It was found that these species were able to reduce nitrogen oxide levels by up to 20% in some cases.
All plants selected for the experiment showed similar nitrogen dioxide removal capabilities (Getty Images)
Chemist Christian Frange of the University of Birmingham explained in the university's press release published on March 7 that all the plants selected for the experiment showed strikingly similar capabilities in removing nitrogen dioxide from the atmosphere, although they are different quite apart from each other.
To reach these results, the researchers placed each plant in a separate room in an office next to a busy road.
The three test chambers were approximately the same level of nitrogen dioxide.
They found that all plant species tested were able to remove about half of the nitrogen dioxide in just one hour.
proportion and proportion
By extrapolating the result to a small office with a volume of 15 cubic meters containing 5 plant species, the researchers suggested that the nitrogen dioxide reduction output would be around 20% if the place was poorly ventilated.
And if the place is much larger, ie with a volume of up to 100 cubic meters, the reduction in the proportion of nitrogen dioxide caused by the presence of only 5 plant species will be less, of course, to only 3.5%.
But this reduction can be increased by using more plants.
Ambient factors did not affect the ability of the tested plants to reduce nitrogen dioxide (Getty Images)
The study also concluded that the surrounding factors did not affect the ability of the tested plants to reduce nitrogen dioxide, whether the soil was dry or wet, or if the experiment was conducted at night or during the day.
The researchers examined the effect of these factors because previous studies looking at removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) have shown that these environmental conditions influence how much air quality is improved.
a biological process
"We don't think plants use the same process that they use to absorb carbon dioxide, where the gas is absorbed through the pores in the leaves," says Fang.
"There was no indication, even during the longer experiments, that our plants had released nitrogen dioxide back into the atmosphere, so it's possible that there is some biological process going on in the soil in which the plant is growing, but we don't even know." Now what is it."
Future research focuses on elucidating the exact mechanisms these plants use to remove nitrogen dioxide (Getty Images)
Part of the difficulty in making a definitive conclusion about plants' true nitrogen-removal capacity, the researchers say, is that real-world homes and offices don't necessarily operate in the same way that lab experiments do, given new air flows (and new pollutants) all the time.
The study team expects that future research will focus on clarifying the exact mechanisms used by these plants to remove nitrogen dioxide from the air. The effect of individual plants can also be compared with “green walls” which are entire walls of plants that are likely to be more effective in cleaning the air.