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Enhancing mixed toluene and formaldehyde pollutant removal by Zamioculcas zamiifolia combined with Sansevieria trifasciata and its CO2 emission

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Abstract

Indoor air pollutants comprise both polar and non-polar volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Indoor potted plants are well known for their innate ability to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) by detoxification of indoor air pollutants. In this study, a combination of two different plant species comprising a C3 plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) and a crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) was used to remove polar and non-polar VOCs and minimize CO2 emission from the chamber. Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata, when combined, were able to remove more than 95% of pollutants within 48 h and could do so for six consecutive pollutant’s exposure cycles. The CO2 concentration was reduced from 410 down to 160 ppm inside the chamber. Our results showed that using plant growth medium rather than soil had a positive effect on decreasing CO2. We also re-affirmed the role of formaldehyde dehydrogenase in the detoxification and metabolism of formaldehyde and that exposure of plants to pollutants enhances the activity of this enzyme in the shoots of both Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata. Overall, a mixed plant of Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata was more efficient at removing mixed pollutants and reducing CO2 than individual plants.

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Funding

The authors would like to thank the Thailand Research Fund through the Petchra pram jam klao Ph.D. Programme and the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi for their financial support of Mr. Haseeb Ullah.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Bioresources and Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, 10150, Thailand

    Haseeb Ullah & Paitip Thiravetyan

  2. Pilot Plant Development and Training Institute, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, 10150, Thailand

    Chairat Treesubsuntorn

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  1. Haseeb Ullah
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  2. Chairat Treesubsuntorn
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  3. Paitip Thiravetyan
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Correspondence to Paitip Thiravetyan.

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Responsible Editor: Gangrong Shi

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Highlights

• Application of mixed plant between Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata for air phytoremediation was proposed.

• Growing Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata together can remove VOCs and minimize CO2 emission.

• Growing Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata together can remove both toluene and formaldehyde.

• Growing Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata together was more efficient at removing mixed pollutants than individual plants.

• Formaldehyde dehydrogenase in plant can be induced by formaldehyde exposure.

Electronic supplementary material

Figure 1S.

Extra cuticular wax content in shoots of Z. zamiifolia and S. trifasciata with leaf surface area of 260 cm2 (PNG 31 kb)

High resolution image (TIF 69 kb)

Figure 2S.

CO2 concentration inside glass chamber with soil microbiome (200 g of soil) and plant growth medium (Hoagland’s medium), 12/12-h light-dark cycle, temperature 25 °C and light intensity of 50 μmol/m2s (PNG 49 kb)

High resolution image (TIF 84 kb)

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Ullah, H., Treesubsuntorn, C. & Thiravetyan, P. Enhancing mixed toluene and formaldehyde pollutant removal by Zamioculcas zamiifolia combined with Sansevieria trifasciata and its CO2 emission. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 538–546 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10342-w

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