Stabilization of Soil Moisture and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality by a Plant-Biofilter Integration System

Lee, Changhee; Choi, Bom; Chun, Man Young

doi:10.7235/hort.2015.15027

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Lee et al ( 2015 ) tested the SPE of an active biofiltration system for the removal of xylene, ethylbenzene, toluene, benzene (all 1 ppmv), and formaldehyde (2 ppmv), finding removal efficiencies in the range of 71.3–75% for all VOCs except benzene (39.7%) and formaldehyde (44.9%). Unlike the findings of Wang ( 2011 ), the SPEs of the various VOCs tested by Lee et al ( 2015 ) were not correlated with their relative solubilities, which could be related to substrate differences between the systems. The relative abilities of different green wall substrates for VOC removal are still unclear and clearly require further research.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the single-pass VOC removal efficiency of an active green wall using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)

Torpy

Clements

Pollinger³

et al. 2017

Air Qual Atmos Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, research into the efficacy of indoor air biofiltration mechanisms, notably living green walls, has become more prevalent. Whilst green walls are often utilised within the built environment for their biophilic effects, there is little evidence demonstrating the efficacy of active green wall biofiltration for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at concentrations found within an interior environment. The current work describes a novel approach to quantifying the VOC removal effectiveness by an active living green wall, which uses a mechanical system to force air through the substrate and plant foliage. After developing a single-pass efficiency protocol to understand the immediate effects of the system, the active green wall was installed into a 30-m3 chamber representative of a single room and presented with the contaminant 2-butanone (methyl ethyl ketone; MEK), a VOC commonly found in interior environments through its use in textile and plastic manufacture. Chamber inlet levels of MEK remained steady at 33.91 ± 0.541 ppbv. Utilising a forced-air system to draw the contaminated air through a green wall based on a soil-less growing medium containing activated carbon, the combined effects of substrate media and botanical component within the biofiltration system showed statistically significant VOC reduction, averaging 57% single-pass removal efficiency over multiple test procedures. These results indicate a high level of VOC removal efficiency for the active green wall biofilter tested and provide evidence that active biofiltration may aid in reducing exposure to VOCs in the indoor environment.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the single-pass VOC removal efficiency of an active green wall using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)

Torpy

Clements

Pollinger³

et al. 2017

Air Qual Atmos Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Unlike potted-plant systems, where PM removal is limited to deposition on plant foliage, active systems pull air through the plant growth substrate, which can filter out a portion of the PM from the air stream (Irga et al, 2017b). Irga et al (2017b) and Lee et al (2015) revealed the potential for active green walls to effectively filter and reduce PM. While the use of highly adsorbent substrates has the potential to improve removal efficiency for VOCs, it is largely unknown how biofilter substrate design affects PM removal.…”

Section: Pm Removal By Functional Green Wallsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, many studies have focused on assessing the short term or single pass pollutant removal efficiency (e.g. Darlington et al, 2001;Lee et al, 2015;Irga et al, 2017b;Pettit et al, 2017), thus there is a paucity of research relating to the CADR of these systems; although the CADR achieved by Wang and Zhang (2011) provides a promising insight into their potential. Similarly, the short-term experimental approach has largely left long-term effects on plant health unknown.…”

Section: Active Botanical Biofilter Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards practical indoor air phytoremediation: A review

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Indoor air quality has become a growing concern due to the increasing proportion of time people spend indoors, combined with reduced building ventilation rates resulting from an increasing awareness of building energy use. It has been well established that potted-plants can help to phytoremediate a diverse range of indoor air pollutants. In particular, a substantial body of literature has demonstrated the ability of the potted-plant system to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from indoor air. These findings have largely originated from laboratory scale chamber experiments, with several studies drawing different conclusions regarding the primary VOC removal mechanism, and removal efficiencies. Advancements in indoor air phytoremediation technology, notably active botanical biofilters, can more effectively reduce the concentrations of multiple indoor air pollutants through the action of active airflow through a plant growing medium, along with vertically aligned plants which achieve a high leaf area density per unit of floor space. Despite variable system designs, systems available have clear potential to assist or replace existing mechanical ventilation systems for indoor air pollutant removal. Further research is needed to develop, test and confirm their effectiveness and safety before they can be functionally integrated in the broader built environment. The current article reviews the current state of active air phytoremediation technology, discusses the available botanical biofiltration systems, and identifies areas in need of development.

show abstract

“…The first attempt to test PM removal by an active green wall system was by Lee et al (2015), with their system removing 83 90% of PM -10 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of <10 m), and 65 73% removal efficiency for PM μ -2.5 ( Figure 7), with efficacy depending on a 'humidifying' cycle, whereby water was atomised into the polluted airstream before entry into the biofilter substrate (Figure 8). Irga et al (2017) developed these trials further, using a commercial system (The Breathing Wall) developed by Australian company Junglefy Pty.…”

Section: The Performance Development Of Active Botanical Biofiltersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Active biofilter with humidifying system used byLee et al (2015). Reprinted from "Stabilization of soil moisture and improvement of indoor air quality by a plant-biofilter integration system, by C.H.Lee et al, 2015, Korean Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology, 33(5), pp.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Applied Horticultural Biotechnology for the Mitigation of Indoor Air Pollution

Torpy¹,

Pettit²,

Irga³

2018

J. People Plants Environ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Exposure to indoor air pollution is an emerging worldwide problem, with growing evidence that it is a major cause of morbidity worldwide. Whilst most indoor air pollutants are of outdoor origin, these combine with a range of indoor sourced pollutants that may lead to high pollutant levels indoors. The pollutants of greatest concern are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM), both of which are associated with a range of serious health problems. Whilst current buildings usually use ventilation with outdoor air to remove these pollutants, botanical systems are gaining recognition as an effective alternative. Whilst many years research has shown that traditional potted plants and their substrates are capable of removing VOCs effectively, they are inefficient at removing PM, and are limited in their pollutant removal rates by the need for pollutants to diffuse to the active pollutant removal components of these systems. Active botanical biofiltration, using green wall systems combined with mechanical fans to increase pollutant exposure to the plants and substrate, show greatly increased rates of pollutant removal for both VOCs, PM and also carbon dioxide (CO 2). A developing body of research indicates that these systems can outperform existing technologies for indoor air pollutant removal, although further research is required before their use will become widespread. Whilst it is known that plant species selection and substrate characteristics can affect the performance of active botanical systems, optimal characteristics are yet to be identified. Once this research has been completed, it is proposed that active botanical biofiltration will provide a cheap and low energy use alternative to mechanical ventilations systems for the maintenance of indoor environmental quality.

show abstract

Stabilization of Soil Moisture and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality by a Plant-Biofilter Integration System

Cited by 11 publications

References 24 publications

Testing the single-pass VOC removal efficiency of an active green wall using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)

Testing the single-pass VOC removal efficiency of an active green wall using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)

Towards practical indoor air phytoremediation: A review

Applied Horticultural Biotechnology for the Mitigation of Indoor Air Pollution

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About