Abstract
Indoor air quality is of emerging importance due to the rapid growth of urban populations that spend the majority of their time indoors. Amongst the public, there is a common perception that potted-plants can clean the air of pollutants. Many laboratory-based studies have demonstrated air pollution phytoremediation with potted-plants. It has, however, been difficult to extrapolate these removal efficiencies to the built environment and, contrary to popular belief, it is likely that potted-plants could make a negligible contribution to built environment air quality. To overcome this problem, active green walls have been developed which use plants aligned vertically and the addition of active airflow to process a greater volume of air. Although a variety of designs have been devised, this technology is generally capable of cleaning a variety of air pollutants to the extent where comparisons against conventional air filtration technology can be made. The current work discusses the history and evolution of air phytoremediation systems from potted-plants through to practical botanical air filtration.
Highlights
Urban air quality is becoming an increasingly important issue in both developing and developed countries [1], where air pollution exposure has become the fifth most significant human health risk factor around the globe [2]
These findings suggest that active green walls may be incapable of completely balancing the CO2 emissions from an occupied indoor environment, they may be used in conjunction with other technologies, such as HVAC systems, to reduce the dependence on, and energy consumption of existing mechanical systems
As was the case with the literature exploring potted-plants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) removal, a range of laboratory studies assessing the phytoremediation of air pollutants by active green walls have helped elucidate air pollutant removal mechanisms and potential
Summary
Urban air quality is becoming an increasingly important issue in both developing and developed countries [1], where air pollution exposure has become the fifth most significant human health risk factor around the globe [2]. The introduction of “Energy Efficient Buildings” has resulted in buildings with increased air-tightness and fewer air exchanges with the ambient environment While this may reduce the rate at which outdoor air pollutants are transferred to the indoor environment, it simultaneously reduces the rate at which indoor generated pollutants, such as VOCs, are flushed from the indoor atmosphere. When this is coupled with the increasingly widespread use of new products and the rejuvenation of building interiors, indoor generated pollutants can accumulate to the level whereby occupants are exposed to considerable concentrations for prolonged periods [17]. This work explores the history, efficacy and potential of vegetative systems, known as botanical biofilters, to make functional differences to ambient air quality
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