Air cleaning performance of two species of potted plants and different substrates

Potted plants have been reported to uptake VOCs and help “cleaning” the air. This paper presents the results of a laboratory study in which two species of plants (peace lily and Boston fern) and three kinds of substrates (expanded clay, soil, and activated carbon) were tested and monitored on their capacity to deplete formaldehyde and CO₂ in a glass chamber. Formaldehyde and CO₂ were selected as indicators to evaluate the biofiltration efficacy of 28 different test conditions; relative humidity (RH) and temperature (T) were monitored during the experiments. To evaluate the efficacy of every test, the clean air delivery rate (CADR) was calculated. Overall, soil had the best performance in removing formaldehyde (~0.07–0.16 m³/h), while plants, in particular, were more effective in reducing CO₂ concentrations (peace lily 0.01m³/h) (Boston fern 0.02–0.03 m³/h). On average, plants (~0.03 m³/h) were as effective as dry expanded clay (0.02–0.04 m³/h) in depleting formaldehyde from the chamber. Regarding air-cleaning performance, Boston ferns presented the best performance among the plant species, and the best performing substrate was the soil.