Removal of Trimethylamine from Indoor Air Using Potted Plants under Light and Dark Conditions

Tatiya Wannomai,Paitip Thiravetyan,Patiya Kemacheevakul

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2018.09.0334

Abstract

ABSTRACT A phytoremediation was evaluated as a solution for mitigating the fishy odor, or trimethylamine (TMA), that occurs in the seafood industry, including fresh markets. A synthetic TMA chemical was used to generate the fishy odor, and eight types of potted plants—Prickly pear cactus, Dracaena sanderiana Sander, Dieffenbachia camilla, Tradescantia spathacea, Peperomia magnoliifolia, Chlorophytum comosum, Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill., and Scindapsus aureus—were selected as candidates for removing TMA in light and dark conditions. The results showed that S. aureus had the highest TMA removal efficiency in light conditions after 72 h (> 95%). However, it had very low efficiency under dark conditions, suggesting that S. aureus should be placed in locations with all-day light sources. On the other hand, cactus types (C. hexagonus (L.) Mill. and Prickly pear cactus) are highly efficient at removing TMA in both light and dark conditions after 72 h (> 90%) and may therefore be more suitable for real-world environments containing both light and dark conditions.

Highlights

Trimethylamine (TMA, N(CH3)3) is a gaseous organic compound at room temperature (Chung and Lee, 2009)
A phytoremediation was evaluated as a solution for mitigating the fishy odor, or trimethylamine (TMA), that occurs in the seafood industry, including fresh markets
The results showed that S. aureus had the highest TMA removal efficiency in light conditions after 72 h (> 95%)

Summary

Introduction

Trimethylamine (TMA, N(CH3)3) is a gaseous organic compound at room temperature (Chung and Lee, 2009). It is a colorless gas with a fishy odor at low concentrations and can change to ammonia-like odor at higher concentrations (OSHA, 1994; Kim et al, 2011; Boraphech and Thiravetyan, 2015). The offensive odor can affect human’s health when they live in unpleasant smell area for a long period. The major adverse health impacts from inhalation exposures are breathing difficulty, irritation of upper respiratory tract, coughing, and even death (Chien et al, 2000). Exposure dose is one of the factors, which affects

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