The NASA Clean Air Study was a project led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in association with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) in 1989, to research ways to clean the air in sealed environments such as space stations. Its results suggested that, in addition to absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen through photosynthesis, certain common indoor plants may also provide a natural way of removing volatile organic pollutants (benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene were tested). [1]
These results are not applicable to typical buildings, where outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already removes VOCs at a rate that could only be matched by the placement of 10–1000 plants/m2 of a building's floor space. [2]
The results also failed to replicate in future studies, with a 2014 review stating that: [3]
While the plant's ability to take up VOCs is well documented in laboratory studies, the effect of plants on indoor air in complex environments like offices requires further investigations to clarify the full capacity of plants in real-life settings.
The following plants were tested during the initial 1989 study: [4]
Since the release of the initial 1989 study, titled A study of interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement: An Interim Report, [6] further research has been done including a 1993 paper [7] and 1996 book [8] by B. C. Wolverton, the primary researcher on the original NASA study, that listed additional plants and focused on the removal of specific chemicals. A different study in 2004 has also shown that the micro-organisms in the soil of a potted plant remove benzene from the air, and that some plant species themselves also contribute to removing benzene. [9]
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Plants studied in various similar studies on air filtration:
Plant, removes: | benzene [10] | Total μg/h of benzene removed [10] | formaldehyde [10] [8] [7] | Total μg/h of formaldehyde removed [10] [7] | trichloroethylene [10] | Total μg/h of trichloroethylene removed [10] | xylene and toluene [7] | ammonia [7] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) | No | Yes [8] | 1,385 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens) | No | Yes [8] | No | Yes | No | |||
Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis') | No | Yes [8] | 1,863 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Kimberley queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata) | No | Yes [8] | 1,328 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
English ivy (Hedera helix) | Yes | 579 | Yes [8] | 402 [10] -1,120 [7] | Yes | 298 | Yes | No |
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) | No | Yes [10] | 560 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Devil's ivy, Pothos plant (Epipremnum aureum) | Yes | Yes [10] | No | Yes | No | |||
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa') | Yes | 1,725 | Yes [8] | 674 [10] | Yes | 1,128 | Yes | Yes |
Flamingo lily (Anthurium andraeanum) | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |||
Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum) | Yes [8] [11] | 604 | Yes [8] [11] | 183 [4] | No | No | No | |
Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) | Yes | 1,420 | Yes [10] [8] | 3,196 [10] | Yes | 688 | Yes | No |
Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) | Yes | Yes [7] | 660 [7] | Yes | Yes [7] | Yes [7] | ||
Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) | Yes | Yes [7] | 876 [7] | Yes | Yes [7] | Yes [7] | ||
Variegated snake plant, mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii') | Yes [8] | 1,196 [4] | Yes [10] | 1,304 [10] | Yes [8] | 405 | Yes | No |
Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron cordatum) | No | Yes [10] | 353 [10] | No | No | No | ||
Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum) | No | Yes [10] | 361 [10] | No | No | No | ||
Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum) | No | Yes [10] | 416 [10] | No | No | No | ||
Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata) | Yes | 1,264 | Yes [10] | 853 [10] | Yes | 1,137 | Yes | No |
Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana') | Yes | Yes [10] | 938 [7] | Yes | 421 | Yes | No | |
Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) [5] | No | Yes [8] | 940 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) | Yes | 4,486 | Yes [8] | Yes | 1,622 | No | No | |
Florist's chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) | Yes | 3,205 | Yes [10] [8] | 1,450 [7] | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Rubber plant (Ficus elastica) | No | Yes [8] | No | No | No | |||
Dendrobium orchids (Dendrobium spp.) | No | Yes [7] | 756 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Dumb canes (Dieffenbachia spp.) | No | Yes [7] | 754 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
King of hearts (Homalomena wallisii) | No | Yes [7] | 668 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) | No | Yes [7] | 240 [7] | No | Yes | No | ||
Aloe vera (Aloe vera) | Yes [12] | Yes | No | No | No | |||
Janet Craig ( Dracaena fragrans "Janet Craig/Cornstalk Plant") | Yes [1] | 1,082 | Yes [1] | 1,361 [7] - 2,037 [10] | Yes [1] | 764 | Yes [7] | No |
Warneckei ( Dracaena deremensis "Warneckei") | Yes [1] | 1,630 | Yes [1] | 760 [7] | Yes [1] | 573 | Yes [7] | No |
Banana (Musa acuminata) | No | Yes [1] | 488 [10] | No | No | No |
Emissions trading is a market-oriented approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). One prominent example is carbon emission trading for CO2 and other greenhouse gases which is a tool for climate change mitigation. Other schemes include sulfur dioxide and other pollutants.
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The National Association of Landscape Professionals, formerly known as the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), is a professional body for lawn care professionals, landscape management professionals, design/build/installation professionals, and interior plantscapers. The organization represents more than 100,000 landscape industry professionals, mainly in the United States.
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Sansevieria is a historically recognized genus of flowering plants, native to Africa, notably Madagascar, and southern Asia, now included in the genus Dracaena on the basis of molecular phylogenetic studies. Common names for the 70 or so species formerly placed in the genus include mother-in-law's tongue, devil's tongue, jinn's tongue, bow string hemp, snake plant and snake tongue. In the APG III classification system, Dracaena is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae. It has also been placed in the former family Dracaenaceae.
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B. C. “Bill” Wolverton is an American scientist specialized in chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, marine biology and environmental engineering. He is well known for being the principal investigator of the famous NASA Clean Air Study, where plants were tested in order to find out their ability to purify air. He completed his PhD in environmental engineering in 1978.
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