Indoor Air Quality Improvement by Ornamental Plants

Abstract

The building is a place where people lives and performs daily activities. Good indoor air quality is essential for people who lives inside the building. In order to provide good indoor air quality, this research emphasizes on two indoor air pollutions which are dust particles which is less than 10 microns or PM10 and high concentrations of carbon dioxide. This research aims to study the ability to absorb carbon dioxide and particulate matter by 6 plants consisting of Epipremnum aureum, Asplenium nidus, Nephrolepis exaltata, Cholorophytum comosum, Aglaonema commutatum Schott, and Spathiphyllum. They are put in a box filled with carbon dioxide. Each plant was observed for 24 hours. The results showed that Spathiphyllum has the best ability to reduce carbon dioxide and PM10 dust particle in one day. It can reduce carbon dioxide for 16.45 * 10^-4 ppm/cm²/min and PM10 dust particle 28.99 * 10^-5 µg/m³/cm²/min. It can also reduce carbon dioxide in the daytime the best. has the best ability to reduce carbon dioxide during the daytime. It can reduce carbon dioxide at a rate of 2.22 ppm/min. Epipremnum aureum has the best ability to reduce carbon dioxide at nighttime. It can reduce carbon dioxide at a rate of 0.29 ppm/min. Consequently, this study recommends planting deli in buildings that are mostly used during the day, such as classrooms, to improve the internal air quality.