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Publication

Phytoremediation of indoor air pollutants by ornamental potted plants

Book - Report

Despite of the strong empirical proof-of-concept provided by several studies, to what extend the indoor plants really have an impact on IAQ is still under debate (Thomas et al., 2015; Waring, 2016). Unaddressed challenges exist for the practical use of potted plants to create meaningful air quality effect. The few existing in situ studies reveal inconsistencies in air quality improvement (Llewellyn and Dixon, 2011). The most recently published study of Cummings and Waring (2019) showed that the VOC removal ability of the potted plants is orders of magnitude lower than the removal rate already provided by the outdoor-toindoor exchange in typical building (~1/h). Similarly, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and the French Environment & Energy Management Agency (ADEME) suggested ventilation and aeration as more efficient methods for remediation of indoor air pollutions than the phytoremediation by plants, because of the low efficiency and wide variety of influencing environment parameters of indoor air purification using plants (Ademe, 2011; Anses, 2017).
Number of pages: 21
Publication year:2022
Accessibility:Open