New research shows that removing nitrogen dioxide from the air can be improved by houseplants, a pollutant that has been linked to respiratory disease.
Potted plants are simple to install, affordable to buy, and potentially a genuinely effective option when it comes to reducing NO 2 levels in homes and offices, according to a new study.
The common plants peace lily, corn plant, and fern arum were selected for testing, and they reduced NO 2 levels by as much as 20.
The plants we chose were all very different from each other, yet they all had the same ability to remove NO 2 from the atmosphere.
Each plant was placed in a test chamber with the same level of NO 2 as you would expect in an office next to a busy road. The plant species were able to remove half of the NO 2 in just an hour.
A 20 percent NO 2 reduction should be possible in a poorly ventilated space, according to the researchers.
The researchers calculate that a 100 square meter area would see a 3.5 percent drop in pollutant, but then again, more plants could be added to make up for the additional room.
In both dark and light conditions, this reduction was achieved. The air quality was improved in previous studies if the environmental conditions were good.
The plants do not use the same process as they do for CO 2 absorption, in which the gas is absorbed through tiny holes in the leaves.
There was no indication that our plants released the NO 2 back into the atmosphere, so there is likely a biological process taking place also involving the soil the plant grows in.
Readers of ScienceAlert may remember a previous study that looked at volatile organic compound pollutants, rather than nitrogen dioxide levels, in order to debunk the idea that household plants could improve indoor air quality.
It is difficult to get a definitive verdict on this because real-world homes and offices don't work the same way as lab experiments, with new air and pollutants flowing in all the time. The researchers did calculations for larger areas and different types of ventilation.
Future research is likely to look at the exact mechanisms that these plants are using to remove NO 2 from the air, and how they compare to green walls that are likely to be even more effective at cleaning up air.
Understanding the limits of what we can expect from plants helps us plan and advise on planting combinations that not only look good but also provide an important environmental service.
The research has been published.
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