Science Project Presentation Najeeb 1

Which Houseplant is Most Effective at Removing Indoor Air Toxins?

Maryam Najeeb
Harrison High School
Kennesaw, Georgia, United States of America
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INTRODUCTION
Today, people spend most of their time indoors. Therefore, it is imperative to have clean,
unpolluted indoor air to maintain safe and a healthy lifestyle. Plants have shown a significant
difference in improving indoor air quality. However, many plants have different characteristics in
removing volatile organic compounds (VOC). The plants included in this experiment have been
researched to identify the characteristics of each plant and what makes it effective at removing
indoor air toxins. This research and experiment's purpose and societal impact is to help humans live
under safer and healthier conditions through nature’s vast resources.
Plants are known to purify indoor air by absorbing common volatile organic compounds in the
atmosphere. However, nature carries many plant species, and they each have different
characteristics that play a role in the way they detoxify the air and renew it. NASA lists three
common types of chemicals found in indoor environments. Commonly found chemicals in indoor
environments are Benzene; a chemical most found in paint, rubber, ink, plastic, and detergents. It
is known to cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, unconsciousness, and in some cases, bone marrow
disease. The second chemical is Trichloroethylene (TCE); found in lacquers, varnish, printing inks,
and adhesive. Lastly, Formaldehyde; a very commonly found chemical in indoor environments. It is
found in paper bags, pressed wood, paper products, tissues, tissue paper, cleaning products,
cigarette smoke, and cooking fuels. These chemicals have been proven to be removed by certain
plants. Plants are able to remove indoor air toxins by the process of Phytoremediation. Each plant
differs in the way they undergo phytoremediation because the root and soil area of each plant
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consists of different bacteria that help biodegrade the toxins into a food source. The bacteria is the
part of the plant that is able to undergo the process of phytoremediation. The soil contains the
bacteria which absorbs the air toxins and then biodegrades them into a food source for the plant.
The plant is able to later benefit from the toxins in the environment. The research summary in
NASA’s research states, “The plant root-soil zone appears to be the most effective area for
removing volatile organic chemicals. Therefore, maximizing air exposure to the plant root-soil
should be considered when placing in buildings for best air filtration.” (Wolverton, Johnson, Bounds
18).
Dracaena trifasciata is part of the Dracaena family, one of the most effective plant families that
clean indoor air. D. trifasciata contains several bacteria's in the soil such as Bacillus,
Curtobacterium, Flavobacterium, Alcaligenes, Micrococcus, Myxococcus, and Pseudomonas. These
are all bacteria that biodegrade air pollutants/toxins such as Benzene, Trichloroethylene, and
Formaldehyde. The biodegraded toxins are then converted as a food source to feed the plant, and
bio-regenerate the carbon dioxide from the growing roots using the process of phytoremediation.
The Dracaena marginata is part of the Dracaena family, meaning it does not only remove indoor air
toxins such as Trichloroethylene, Benzene, and Formaldehyde, but it also gives humidity to the air.
According to Mark D., “Plants typically release about 97% of the water they take in.” (Dracaena -
why is Dracaena good for indoors? an article by Mark.D). Marginata plants are also easy to
maintain making them suitable for indoor areas. Bacteria found in Marginata soil is Arthrobacter,
Bacillus, and Leuconostoc. These bacteria’s help in the process of phytoremediation.
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The Spathiphyllum wallisii (Peace Lily) is a highly effective plant that significantly decreases indoor
air pollutants. Its soil contains bacteria such as Bacillus, Aureobacterium, Micrococcus,
Pseudomonas, and Streptomyces. In the NASA trial for the Spathiphyllum wallisii, the plant
removed 41,392 microorganisms from the chamber in which Benzene was injected, and 27,064
microorganisms in which trichloroethylene was injected. The plants used in the trial for Benzene
and Trichloroethylene had a leaf surface area of 7,960cm2. In the trial with the chemical of
Formaldehyde, the Spathiphyllum wallisii, with a leaf surface area of 8,509cm2, removed 16,167
microorganisms
The hypothesis of this experiment was that the Dracaena trifaciata was going to do the most
efficiently in this experiment due to its ability to produce a large amount of oxygen and it is part of
the Dracaena family which is known to be one of the best plant families in removing indoor air
toxins. Its ability to produce a large amount of oxygen can help the plant be able to override the
existing air particles in an environment which can reduce the amount of toxicity in the area.
The controls in the experiment are the environment location and the time increments. The
independent variable in this experiment are the toxicity in the area. The dependent variables are
the efficiency of each plant and the amount each plant needs in the experiment.
All in all, plants that absorb toxins come from different plant families, each with unique
characteristics that make them differ from each other in their ability to clean the air. Plants can
override toxins by phytoremediation while also benefiting from this process.
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METHODS
1. Turn the bucket over and cut three holes at the bottom for a small amount of ventilation.
2. Check the air quality by measuring it with the Purple Air Sensor application and make sure it’s
green or the air quality index (AQI) is between 0-40 before you start throughout all trials.
3. Place plant, Sensor, and incense burner in an indoor environment with a source of natural light
(window).
4. Start a time-lapse video capturing the experimental set up (optional).
5. Light the incense burner using the matches (under adult supervision) and in a fast manner, cover
the plant, sensor, and burner under the clear bucket with the drilled holes facing up.
6. Record the air quality when you light up the incense burner by checking the device being used on
the PurpleAir website . Use this to compare the quality after some time.
7. Start a timer for 10 minutes and check back in the website every 10 minutes for 21 times then
check back every 15 minutes for 7 times, then check for every 30 minutes as much times until the
AQI measures 0-40.
8. Repeat steps 2-7 using different plants for each plant and repeat it once without a plant.
9. After all 4 trials are conducted, compare the efficiencies of each trial by comparing the AQI
levels, and the amount of time it took for each trial to get rid of the pollution in the environment.
The most effective trial will be determined after the comparison of these features.

All images and

graphs included
in this document
where produced
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RESULTS
No Plant Results Dracaena trifasciata Plant Efficiencies Dracaena marginata Plant Efficiencies
1500 1309 1500 1242 1500
1060
1000
AQI Levels

1000

AQI Levels
1000

AQI Levels
500 500 500
0 0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 0 1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36
1 6 11 16 21 26 31
Time Incraments Time incraments
Time Incraments
Figure 4: No Plant trail. This trail took 15 hours and Figure 5: Dracaena trifasciata trail data. This plant Figure 6: Dracaena marginata trail data. This plant
38 minutes. took 9 hours and 23 minutes took 11 hours and 32 minutes

Spathiphyllum wallisii Plant Efficiencies 10-Minute Incrament Plant Efficiencies 15-Minute Incraments
1500 1500
1000 941

AQI Levels
1000 1000
AQI levels

800
AQI Levels

600 500 500

400 0
200 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 10-minute Incraments
Time Incraments
No Plant D. marginata S. wallisii No Plant D. marginata
Time Incraments S. wallisii D. trifaciata
D. trifaciata

Figure 9: The data that was taken for every 10 Figure 8: The data that was taken for all the trials for
Figure 7: Spathiphyllum wallisii trial. This plant took
minutes for 21 times for all the trails every 15 minutes 7 times
6 hours and 23 minutes
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30-Minute Incraments
1500

AQI Levels
1000
500 All images and
graphs included
0
RESULTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 in this document
Time Incraments where produced
Air Quality Index Improvements and created by
1400 No Plant Draceana
1242 Marginata
1309 Peace Lily Snake Plant Maryam Najeeb.
Figure1200
10: The data taken for every 301060
minutes for as much times until the air becomes clean again for all the trials All images and
1000 941
graphs included
AQI Levels

800 in this document

600 where produced
400 and created by
200 Maryam Najeeb.
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47
Time Incraments
No Plant D. Marginata S. wallisii D. trifasciata

Figure 11: The total data for all the trials of the experiment.

Figure 13: Raw data of AQI for the total trials with
data taken every 15 minutes for 7 times

Figure 13: Raw data of AQI for the total trials with data taken
for every 30 minutes for as much times until the air becomes
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DISCUSSION
After conducting all four trials of the experiment, it was concluded that the plant that removed the
most toxins in the shortest amount of time was the Spathiphyllum wallisii (Peace Lily) with a trial
time of about 6 hours and 23 minutes. The plant was able to do this because it requires much
water which makes it able to produces the most humidity, making it renew or override the existing
air particles which resulted in the shortest time of all three plants. This plant took 9 hours and 15
minutes less than the trial without any plants. The peak AQI of the S. wallisii was 941 PM2.5 per 10-
minute average, making it the lowest peak AQI out of all the plants and trials. Despite the S. wallisii
doing the most significant difference in removing VOCs, the rest of the plants remain very efficient
in removing indoor air toxins.
The Dracaena trifasciata ranked the second in removing indoor air pollution. It took about 9 hours
and 23 minutes. The difference in time between this trial and the trial without plants is 6 hours and
15 minutes and had a peak AQI of 1242 PM2.5. This plant remains very suitable in indoor areas.
The Dracaena marginata, ranked the last of the three plants in being the most efficient in removing
the VOCs from and environment. This plant took 11 hours and 32 minutes, making the difference
between this trial and the trial without the plants 4 hours and 6 minutes. It had a peak AQI of 1060
US EPA PM2.5 AQI per 10-minute average.
In the trial in which no plants were used, it was proven that the plants make a significant difference
in the air quality. The trail without the plants took 15 hours and 38 minutes. It had a peak AQI of
1309 US EPA PM2.5 AQI per 10-minute average. This trial was used as a comparison to compare
the effect of plants in an environment and the effect of an environment without the plants.
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CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, the plant that did the best was the Spathiphyllum wallisii because it took the shortest
time to get the air quality index back to normal with a trial time of 6 hours and 23 minutes. This
makes the hypothesis (which was that the D. trifaciata was going to do the most efficiently.)
experiment inaccurate. The rest of the plants did very well compared to the trial without any
plants, and they could definitely be used to help clean indoor air and remove common air
pollutants. It was concluded that in each trial in which plants were used, the AQI rose to high levels,
but the plants seemed to speed the process, making them faster in removing pollution than the
trial in which no plants were used. This means that plants play a role in speeding up the effects of
toxins in an area, which also means that the exposure of toxins to humans in this area is for a
shorter duration of time. Unexpected occurrences that were noted during experimentation was
after taking the incense burner out of the environment, the AQI started rising to high levels and
started multiplying and increasing very rapidly. This was noted throughout each trail. This was
unexpected because the air quality wasn’t expected to rise after the source of the pollution left the
environment. This might be because the pollution multiplies after the source of pollution was not
present in the environment which would make the AQI rise higher and faster. Errors made in this
experiment was when some screenshots weren’t captured due to forgetting or the accident of
stopping the timer during the middle of the experiment by accident which caused the trial to stop.
This meant that some data was incomplete and inaccurate, which meant they had to be repeated
several times until the results are accurate. The conclusion was made that the Spathiphyllum
wallisii is the most effective at removing indoor air toxins. While the S. wallisii was the most
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efficient plant, the rest of the plants remained highly effective in removing VOCs from an
environment. It has been proven that adding plants to an environment will significantly stabilize
the quality of the air, making it healthy and harmless to people. All the plants included in this
experiment should still be used in indoor environments for removing toxins despite the S. wallisi
being the most efficient.
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REFERENCES
Wolverton B.C., Johnson, A., & Bounds, K. (989, September 15). NASA Technical Reports Server
(NTRS). https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930073077
D, M. (2016, January 12). Dracaena – Why is Dracaena good for indoors? westcoastnurseries.
https://www.westcoastnurseries.com/Dracaena-why-is-Dracaena-good-for-indoors/
Frankie, Rathisa, Sulakhe, M., & Attih, E. (2018, March 17). Snake Plant: Everything You
Need To Know. Retrieved September 03, 2020,
from https://www.rollingnature.com/blogs/news/snake-plant-everything-you-need-to-know
Jyoti, D. (2018, August 31). Peace lily air purification plant & health benefits. Retrieved September
09, 2020, from https://foodthesis.com/peace-lily-air-purification-plant-health-benefits/
Environmental Protection Agency. (2020, June 8). Particulate Matter (PM10) Trends. EPA.
https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/particulate-matter-pm10-trends
Parhizkar, H., & Elzeyadi, I. (2020). Investigating the Impact of Plant Phytoremediation on Indoor Air
Quality in Work Environments: A Meta-Analysis. ASHRAE Transactions, 126(1), 109.
Conrad, M. (2008). Pots of Health. Prevention, 60(4), 175.
Reducing indoor air pollution with houseplants. [Video]. In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
from https://school-eb-com.proxygsu-scob.galileo.usg.edu/levels/high/assembly/view/
246866
Team Airveda. (2017). What Is PM2.5 and Why Is It Important?
https://www.airveda.com/blog/what-is-pm2-5-and-why-is-it-important