Determination of the Efficiency of Formaldehyde Removal According to the Percentage Volume of Pot Plants Occupying a Room

Abstract

The amount of formaldehyde removal by indoor pot plants was assessed in actual space, and compared with removal amount calculated from a sealed chamber test. Epipremnum aureum, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Gardenia jasminoide were placed in a room, occupying 3, 6, and 9% of the room volume, respectively. When each species occupied 3, 6, and 9% of the room volume, formaldehyde was removed by 30.9, 47.7, and 67.0%, and the relative humidity increased by 4.8, 8.3, and 10.0%, respectively. When pot plants occupied 1% of the room's volume, formaldehyde was decreased by 6-7% in the room. A small difference in the rate of formaldehyde removal was observed among the species. The ratio of the formaldehyde removal measured in the room over the its theoretical removal calculated as the chamber test was found to be 0.05, approximately 20 folds. As a result, it has been found that indoor plants could be an effective method for the purifying of indoor air, according to the results suggesting that pot plants occupying about 1% of the room's volume reduced formaldehyde by approximately 7%.