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Unlocking the power of indoor plants while delivering healthy indoors that promote wellbeing
Air pollution is a growing concern in urban environments with much focus on high concentrations of gaseous airborne contaminants in indoor air.
Numerous studies have shown the benefits that indoor plants offer; improving indoor air quality, providing a natural filtration system with a remarkable impact on people's health and overall function.
In groundbreaking research, Ambius joined forces with UTS (University of Technology Sydney) to prioritise health and well-being indoors. Led by Associate Professor Fraser Torpy of the UTS Plants and Environmental Quality Research Group, this unprecedented study aimed to explore uncharted territory.
Our commitment to fostering a healthy indoor environment shines through this pioneering partnership, which unlocks new insights, crucial for every organisation.
UTS research team conducted a first-of-its-kind study, centred around removing some of the most detrimental volatile organic compounds (VOCs) discovered in indoor environments.
A range of petroleum-based VOCs commonly found indoors were introduced into a sealed chamber and the removal rates were studied.
Extremely effective removal was recorded for all petrol related VOC categories, with the highly carcinogenic benzene derivatives, Alkanes, Cyclopentanes showing the biggest impact and the fastest removal first.
Indoor air is 2-5 times more polluted than outdoor air, largely due to the presence of concentrated VOCs.
The accumulation of toxic VOCs in the indoors has been associated with discomfort, irritation and respiratory disease, and in high concentrations, have been linked to reduced concentration and performance, with chronic exposure resulting in development of onset asthma and heart disease. Additionally many VOCs are known to be carcinogenic.
The greatest strength of plant-based systems is that they can mitigate simultaneously all forms of indoor air contaminants.