Air purifiers are essential companions for many families in which one of its members suffers from sensitivity to certain allergens, but also for those who are looking for improve air quality general that we breathe daily inside the house, especially in highly polluted urban environments.
These devices, which work thanks to electricity, are usually based on HEPA filters with different capacities when it comes to capturing contaminants, also having to replace them from time to time and with the drawback that they are not always capable of capturing the smallest molecules.
Are there no other alternatives? Well, it seems that we can resort to the customs of a lifetime in many Spanish houses where the majority of houses had decorative indoor plants which according to a study are capable of cleaning and filtering the air of certain pollutants.
Plants as a natural filter for the air at home
Specifically, we refer to the recent study carried out by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)Australia, where they have tested how effective some plant species are when it comes to purify indoor air of our houses.
Those responsible for it designed a Small Living Green Wall (known as SLGW) using houseplants known for their phytoremediation abilities, a term that refers to the use of plants to clean up contaminated soil, air, and water.
The researchers tested nine SLGW systems, each with devil’s ivy or pothos (Epipremnum aureum), philodendron (Syngonium podophyllum) and the classical tape (Chlorophytum comosum). A control group was also prepared with just potting mix, no plants. The SLGWs were placed in sealed chambers exposed to volatile organic compounds, and then analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
The researchers found a high removal capacity of alkanes (97.9%), the derivatives of benzene (85.96%) and the cyclopentane (88.18%), all of which are known to cause significant negative effects on human health.
The benzene derivatives analyzed contained volatile organic compounds: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xyleneknown as BTEX, and according to the study after only eight hoursall compounds were reduced to less than 20% of the initial concentrations. According to Fraser Torpy, the study’s lead researcher:
This is the first time plants have been tested for their ability to remove gasoline-related compounds, and the results are astounding. Not only plants can remove most air pollutants in a matter of hours, but also remove the most harmful gasoline-related contaminants more efficiently. For example, the known carcinogen benzene is consumed at a faster rate than less harmful substances, such as alcohols.
The pollutant concentration present in the air also influenced the efficiency with which plants removed them.
We also discovered that the more concentrated the toxins are in the air, the faster and more effective the plants become to eliminate them, which shows that plants adapt to the conditions in which they grow.
As we can see, an interesting study that exposes how the traditional vegetation that many homes we have had to decorate in Spain and other countries with a Mediterranean culture, can be a great ally when it comes to fighting against polluted air in our homes.
As always, these types of studies must be valued for what they are, studies that are yet to be verified by the rest of the scientific community, but even so, have a few pots inside the house It seems like a way to purify the air in homes that is most sustainable, cheap and relatively easy to maintain.
Via | ecoinventions
Cover image | Mokkie at Wikimedia Commons
More information | UTS
In Xataka Smart Home | They decorate, improve the air and insulate and make us save energy and euros. The trick is to use vertical gardens