EuTech Engineers

Air purification by Sansevieria

trifasciata and Chlorophytum comosum

Axelle Pinet

Intern at EuTech Engineers

Student at Sup’Biotech Paris

Eutech Engineers Association VAT: G01825025 | PIC nº: 893173673 Address: Paseo de las Delicias, 30, 28045
Madrid, Spain +34 914 613 953 | [email protected] | [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENT

1/ INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 3
2/ AIR PURIFICATION AND ITS MECHANISM.............................................................. 3
3/ OTHER BENEFITS OF THESE SPECIES ...................................................................... 5
4/ CONCLUSION AND COMMENTS .................................................................................. 6
5/ REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 7
1/ INTRODUCTION
Household air pollution mainly falls into five categories: chemical pollution, radiant
pollution, physical pollution, biological pollution, and air particulate pollution. They do a great
damage to human health. The plant purification is drawing wide attention because it is
economical and effective, and it also has its ecological function and aesthetic values. Improper
methods will cause second-time pollution and can hinder the growth of plants. The core of plant
purification is to choose the proper plants and scientific arrangement. Indeed, this paper is about
the ability of Sansevieria trisfasciata to purify the air.

2/ AIR PURIFICATION AND ITS MECHANISM

2.1 Sansevieria trifasciata
The other name given for Sansevieria trifasciata plant is Mother-in-Laws Tongue or Snake
plant. The air purification ability of the snake plant is found by NASA clean air study. This
plant can remove formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene, and xylene from the polluted air.
Sansevieria trifasciata plant can remove carbon dioxide from the air and producing oxygen at
night. Thus, it is an excellent plant to keep in the bedroom. It is an extremely resilient species.
This plant can go for weeks without water and is capable to grow in any climate.[1]

The plant's ability to endure drought is due to the crassulacean acid metabolism mechanism,
which exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide. To stop water from evaporating in the scorching
heat during the day, the tiny holes on a plant's leaves known as stomata, which are used to
exchange gases, are only opened at night.
In certain areas of northern Australia, it is a weed. It is challenging to induce this plant to bloom
outside of its natural habitat. It can recreate its native surroundings. Its blossoms have a sticky
feel and range in color from greenish white to cream. Some are fragrant at night, while others
are not at all.[2]

2.2 Chlorophytum comosum

Known as the spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum plant was found to reduce the
concentration of formaldehyde and xylene. It is very easy to grow and is one of the most
adaptable houseplants.[1]

Plants can help in increasing the amount of oxygen and remove various toxins and pollutants.
Sansevieria trifasciata and Chlorophytum comosum plants are easy to grow and propagate.
Thus, the costs involved are lower compared to other methods such as using air purifiers. These
plants are resilient and can survive days without water. They require little care and require very
less fertilizers. The Sansevieria trifasciata plant requires very little water, especially in cooler
times. It needs to be fertilized just once in a few months. The Chlorophytum comosum plant
requires moderate watering to prevent drying out and fertilizing every few weeks. [1]

2.3 Air purification

Using these plants as a way of indoor air pollution control is an inexpensive and green way of
having a healthier lifestyle.[1]
 Figure 1: Graph of air quality readings. [1]

The effective way for plants to purify the air is to release oxygen and absorb the carbon by
photosynthesis; to reduce the temperature and adjust the humidity by transpiration; to keep the
dust down by the leaves’ mucilage secretion; The microbes in the root system and the soil can
absorb the toxic air and decompose it by a series of physical and biochemical reactions. The
decomposed toxic air can provide nutrition itself.[3]

Chlorophytum comosum and Sansevieria trifasciata can absorb and purify air-containing
components such as ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOC)1, CO2, formaldehyde2,
benzene, ammonia, and chlorinated hydrocarbon.

In order to investigate the effect of absorption and purification of indoor formaldehyde by

chlorophytum comosum under normal circumstances, chlorophytum comosum is used as the
test material and formaldehyde concentration of different closure times is measured by an
indoor formaldehyde velocimeter. The results of the experiment show that taking a closure time
of 24 as an example, formaldehyde concentration changes from 0.41 mg/m3 to 0.32 mg/m3 and
the removal rate is 21.95% in a room of 15 square meters, and the absorption effect of
chlorophytum comosum is good for indoor formaldehyde.

New building materials and composite decoration materials used in the decorating process will
release some poisonous and harmful gases, such as formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia, and
chlorinated hydrocarbon, and formaldehyde is the most destructive one among them.
Formaldehyde can make persons produce symptoms of nausea and vomiting and even harm
skin, respiratory tract, and viscera.

1
organic chemical that has a high vapor pressure at room temperature, responsible for the odor of scents and
perfumes as well as pollutants.
2
colorless poisonous gas synthesized by the oxidation of methanol and used as an antiseptic, disinfectant,
histologic fixative, and general-purpose chemical reagent for laboratory applications
The part of leaves of chlorophytum comosum have wilting symptoms and color is slightly
lighter after 48 hours. At the end of the test, chlorophytum comosum restores its growth status
without formaldehyde stress after 2 weeks, and the wilting symptom disappears basically and
chlorophytum comosum does not show obvious toxicity, namely, chlorophytum comosum has
a strong tolerance to formaldehyde gas. [4]

In fact, air pollutants get their entry into the plant system through stomata and cause partial
denaturation of chloroplast and decrease pigment content due to the replacement of Mg ions
with hydrogen atoms. Chlorophyll degradation leads to lower carbon dioxide fixation. Higher
chlorophyll content might favor the plants to tolerate pollution better. The pH of leaf extract
was in the range of 4.86 – 6.31.
Although plant sensitivity to pollution is affected by climatic conditions and harsh climatic with
low temperatures at high altitudes pose challenges to human survival due to hypoxia conditions
but the addition of these indoor plants over others can help in improving indoor air quality.[5]

Figure 2: Sampled ozone concentrations over time among the plant (chamber) treatments used to evaluate the
effectiveness of houseplants in reducing ozone concentrations. When ozone concentrations reached about 200
ppb, the ozone generator was turned off (time = 0) and ozone concentrations among the treatments over the
ensuing time were measured (snake = snake plant, pothos = golden pothos, spider = spider plant, control = no
plants, 1 ppb = 1 nLL21).[6]

Concerning air purification from ozone, a plant’s ability to reduce concentrations of ozone in
its surrounding environment appears to be dependent upon uptake of ozone through the stomata
and subsequent detoxification reactions within the intracellular spaces. [6]

3/ OTHER BENEFITS OF THESE SPECIES

Besides having the capacity to purify the air, Chlorophytum comosum and Sansevieria
trifasciata have other benefits:
• Increase humidity
Spider plants can be a great addition to any home or office because they increase the humidity
in your space. If spider plants are placed near an open window, you will notice that there is
more condensation on the windows. The water droplets left behind after this plant has been
watered provide humidity for up to 12 hours when evaporating. Spider plants often have many
leaves which provide shade over hot surfaces, which helps reduce moisture loss during summer
days. The plant itself grows well when indoor humidity is between 40% and 60%, which is
great for keeping the atmosphere in your home humid.
 • Spider plants are edible
Spider plants are edible, which makes them great for indoor and outdoor gardens. Spider plants
are so named because of the way they grow their roots from a central point. They form fleshy,
vertical roots that extend outwards and store more water and nutrients in low-moisture
environments. Both the roots and leaves are edible even though not common by many growers
in the United States. Spider plant leaves can be used in salads or cooked as a side dish. They
also have a mild flavor, which makes them perfect for adding raw to dishes such as green
smoothies, stir-fries, egg bakes, lasagna casserole recipes, and more.
• Clear airborne irritants
The spider plant is also good for people who suffer from allergies or hay fever because it can
help remove allergens in the air, including dust mites, pollen, mold spores, pet dander, and
more. When these toxins are removed from the air, they no longer cause allergic reactions. In
this way, spider plants work as air purifiers for the smallest airborne pollutants that most air
purifiers and scrubbers are not able to remove from the atmosphere. [7]

4/ CONCLUSION AND COMMENTS

To conclude, Sansevieria trisfaciata and Chlorophytum comosum are two species highly
efficient for air purification from ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOC)1, CO2,
formaldehyde2, benzene, ammonia, and chlorinated hydrocarbon. Moreover, a study showed
that it is possible to recreate their mechanism in order to use it to create a biofilter for cigarette
smoke.
Therefore, a botanical biofilter using these plants together shows potential for use in
contaminated sites. Herein, the potential of this mixed plant botanical biofilter was evaluated
as a method of phytoremediation for multi-pollutants from cigarette smoke. The results showed
that the combination of S. trifasciata and C. comosum in a botanical biofilter was highly
effective in removing VOCs and PM2.5. In addition, this botanical biofilter can also
successfully remove formaldehyde, acetone, benzene, and xylene, with low CO2 emission
under indoor conditions of moderate light intensity.
The system can completely remove toluene at 3.9–4.7 mg m−3 within 2– 3 h, whereas normal
plants operating outside a botanical biofilter might need more than 8–12 h for complete
remediation.
Our system can be scaled up and used in real contaminated sites such as smoking rooms, offices,
etc. In addition, in combination with architectural design and air pollutant sensors, automatic
botanical biofilters could be developed. [8]
5/ REFERENCES

[1] Shitole, S., Nair, D., Pandey, N. and Suhagiya, H., 2018. Internet of Things Based Indoor
Air Quality Improving System. [online] Ieeexplore.ieee.org.

[2] https://weeds.brisbane.qld.gov.au/weeds/mother-laws-tongue

[3] Deng, H. and Li, Y., 2012. Health Hazard of Indoor Air Pollution and Plant Purification
Technology. Advanced Materials Research, 573-574, pp.370-373.

[4] Zhao, X., Zhang, N., Shu, H. and Liu, N., 2014. Study on the Purification Effect of
Chlorophytum Comosum on Indoor Formaldehyde. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 675-
677, pp.229-232.

[5] Agarwal, A., 2022. Evaluation of Indoor Plants for their Pollution Tolerance Ability.
[online] Academia.edu.

[6] Papinchak, H., Holcomb, E., Best, T. and Decoteau, D., 2009. Effectiveness of Houseplants
in Reducing the Indoor Air Pollutant Ozone. HortTechnology, 19(2), pp.286-290.

[7] https://gardenine.com/spider-plant-benefits/

[8] Siswanto, D., Permana, B., Treesubsuntorn, C. and Thiravetyan, P., 2019. Sansevieria
trifasciata and Chlorophytum comosum botanical biofilter for cigarette smoke
phytoremediation in a pilot-scale experiment—evaluation of multi-pollutant removal efficiency
and CO2 emission. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 13(1), pp.109-117.