U Shome^1*, AB Darlington^[1],2, DJ Llewellyn¹, MA Dixon¹

ABSTRACT
Indoor air quality is a growing health concern in North America, where buildings are sealed to maintain proper indoor climate in extreme weather conditions. This can lead to the accumulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) indoors that has been related to several health problems. Indoor air biofiltration, a novel method of maintaining indoor air quality, consists of passing an air stream over a biofilm containing beneficial microbes, which degrade the pollutants. Since higher plants are known for their diverse microbial association in soil, this study hypothesizes that higher plants will play a role in improving biofiltration efficacy. This paper examines preliminary results on the removal of three VOCs, methylethylketone, toluene and trichloroethylene from contaminated indoor air using biofilters containing several higher plant species. The initial results indicated that the inclusion of plants generally increases the efficiency of the biofilter at removing toluene and methylethylketone. Further, some plants were exceptional in their impact on biofilter performance. Trichloroethylene was not removed by the biofilters irrespective of the presence of plants. These results will facilitate the selection of higher plants into future indoor air biofilter designs to enhance biofilter function.

INDEX TERMS
VOCs, Indoor air quality, Biofiltration, Packing material, Plants, Phytoremediation.

^[1] Controlled Environment Systems Research Group, Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1

² Air Quality Solutions Ltd., alan@naturaire.com, 55 Callander Dr., Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1E 4H6