Volatile organic compounds removal by means of a felt-based living wall to improve indoor air quality

Currently, the population spends most of the time in indoor environments, which makes Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) very important for health and comfort. As vegetation can act as a biofilter capturing air pollutants, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of a living wall module in the removal of t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Suárez Cáceres, Gina Patricia, Fernández Cañero, Rafael, Fernández Espinosa, Antonio José, Rossini Oliva, Sabina, Franco Salas, Antonio, Pérez Urrestarazu, Luis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/153094
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/153094
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2020.11.009
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Vertical greening systems
Indoor environment
TVOCs
n-Hexane
Nephrolepis exaltata
Fytotextile
Descripción
Sumario:Currently, the population spends most of the time in indoor environments, which makes Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) very important for health and comfort. As vegetation can act as a biofilter capturing air pollutants, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of a living wall module in the removal of the Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) for IAQ improvement. An airtight glass chamber was used to release contaminants, monitoring the TVOCs both with the chamber empty (control) and with a small Fytotextile® living wall module planted with Nephrolepis exaltata L. A substantial reduction of TVOCs was observed when the living wall was inside the chamber. In few hours, TVOCs levels were reduced below the recommended limit (following Spanish regulations). More tests are recommended considering different plant species and other variables related to the IAQ.