The NASA Clean Air Study was a project led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

) 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 Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

and releasing

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

through

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

, certain common indoor plants may also provide a natural way of removing volatile organic pollutants (

benzene Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...

, and

trichloroethylene Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an organochloride with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial metal-degreasing solvent. It is a clear, colourless, non-flammable, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like pleasant mild smell and sweet taste.

were tested). These results are not applicable to typical buildings, where outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already removes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at a rate that could only be matched by the placement of 10–1000 plants/m of a building's floor space. The results also failed to replicate in future studies, with a 2014 review stating that:

List of plants studied

The following plants were tested during the initial 1989 study:Wolverton, B. C., et al
A study of interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement: an interim report.
NASA. September, 1989. * Variegated snake plant / mother-in-law's tongue ( Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii) *

English ivy ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...

(''

Hedera helix ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...

'') * Peace lily (''

Spathiphyllum ''Spathiphyllum'' is a genus of about 60 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia. Certain species of ''Spathiphyllum'' are commonly known as spath or pea ...

'' 'Mauna Loa') * Chinese evergreen ('' Aglaonema modestum'') * Bamboo palm ('' Chamaedorea seifrizii'') * Red-edged dracaena, marginata ('' Dracaena marginata'') * Cornstalk dracaena, mass cane/corn cane (''

Dracaena fragrans ''Dracaena fragrans'' (cornstalk dracaena), is a flowering plant species that is native to tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at altitude.JSTOR Plant Science ...

'' 'Massangeana') * Weeping fig (''

Ficus benjamina ''Ficus benjamina'', commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia. It is the official tree of Bangkok. The ...

'')American Society for Horticultural Science
Indoor plants can reduce formaldehyde levels.
ScienceDaily. February 20, 2009. Quote: "...Complete plants removed approximately 80% of the formaldehyde within 4 hours. Control chambers pumped with the same amount of formaldehyde, but not containing any plant parts, decreased by 7.3% during the day and 6.9% overnight within 5 hours..." In reference to: Kim, J. K., et al. (2008)
Efficiency of volatile formaldehyde removal by indoor plants: contribution of aerial plant parts versus the root zone.
''Horticultural Science'' 133: 479-627. * Barberton daisy, gerbera daisy (''

Gerbera jamesonii ''Gerbera jamesonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Gerbera'' belonging to the basal Mutisieae tribe within the large Asteraceae (or Compositae) family. It is indigenous to South Eastern Africa and commonly known as the Barberton ...

'') * Florist's chrysanthemum, pot mum ('' Chrysanthemum morifolium'') * Janet Craig ('' Dracaena deremensis " Janet Craig"'') * Warneckei ('' Dracaena deremensis " Warneckei"'')

Additional research

Since the release of the initial 1989 study, titled ''A study of interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement: An Interim Report'', further research has been done including a 1993 paperWolverton, B. C. and J. D. Wolverton. (1993)
Plants and soil microorganisms: removal of formaldehyde, xylene, and ammonia from the indoor environment.
''Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences'' 38(2), 11-15. and 1996 bookWolverton, B. C. (1996) ''How to Grow Fresh Air''. New York: Penguin Books. 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.

Other studies

Plants studied in various similar studies on air filtration:

References

External links

* 'Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution' {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101202322/http://www.wolvertonenvironmental.com/NASA-Report-89.pdf , date=2018-11-01
How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air – TED 2009.
An extension of the

TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

. Soil science-related lists Lists of plants Building biology 1989 works NASA Indoor air pollution

List of plants studied

Additional research

Other studies

See also

References

External links