Indoor Plants Help Improve Air Quality

Many people do not know that air pollution is almost always higher indoors than outside, even in the city centre, and air-conditioning systems are almost never designed to remove outdoor gaseous pollutants from air drawn into the building.
As polluted outdoor air moves indoors, it mixes with more indoor contaminants from unflued gas appliances and VOCs outgassing from plastic,synthetic (i.e. petroleum-derived) furnishings, finishes, solvents, etc.
Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have carried out laboratory and real-world office studies on the ability of indoor plants to reduce VOCs, CO2 and CO.  They have so far laboratory-tested 11 indoor plant species for VOC removal.

After a week of acclimatisation to exposure to any test VOC, all plant species worked equally well to remove VOCs within about 24 hours. They also work equally well in light or dark (24/7).  Researchers from the UTS say this is because it is primarily the potting mix microorganisms that remove VOCs. The plant contributes to the process by nourishing its root-zone microbial community (as any plant does).
In essence the plant system - leaves, roots and potting media - take VOCs from the air such as benzene and formaldehyde released by furnishings, carpets, photocopiers, printers and many modern building materials. They also contribute oxygen back into the environment.
In summary, indoor plants have a significant impact on improving air quality in buildings, as:

• Indoor air is almost always more polluted than outdoors. In particular, indoor air generally has more:
  • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Emitting from plastics/synthetics, in furniture, fittings, computers, printers and more, cause loss of concentration, headaches, eye, nose and throat problems.
  • CO2 (us breathing), causes drowsiness, heavy-head, lowered concentration.
• Overseas findings show that indoor plants can reduce:
  • Nitrogen and sulfur oxides
  • Air toxics
  • Particulates
  • Ozone
• The UTS Research, conducted over the last 15 years, has shown that indoor plants can reduce:
• VOCs:
  • Can reduce by over 80% to below 100 ppb (Aust. Office Max. 500 ppb)
  • If VOC loads go up, so do removal rates
  • All plant species equally effective (the process depends on symbiosis with normal potting-mix bacteria)
  • Works day and night (24/7)
  • And 20 cm pots are as effective as 30 cm pots
• CO2 (Carbon dioxide)
  • Reduce by 10-25%
  • Exchanged for equal amount of O2 (oxygen)
  • The more foliage the better for CO2 removal
  • Optimise CO2 reduction by placing plants according to their recommended light requirements
• CO (carbon monoxide)
  • Reduce by up to 90%