Can Plants Clean Air of Benzene?

It was long ago, and it was far away – (well, at least it was long ago.) In the last part of the 1980s, America’s deep space agency took on a study to figure out whether plants can remove a range of harmful chemicals from our indoor air.

This NASA program was undertaken in the era of Star Wars. It was called the Clean Air Study. This foray was led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in partnership with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America. Certainly, that latter organization would have had an interest in promoting these uses of green stemmed plants.

Scientists were wondering whether plants could do certain things in space stations. Plants can change carbon dioxide for oxygen during the process of photosynthesis. Could they also remove harmful elements like benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene? And how would that work?

These three contaminants are actually three of the most common culprits in decreasing indoor air quality. You may have read about this in an earlier blog post showing what each of these chemicals does. It helps to know why you should try to get it out of your home space or workplace. Knowing how to handle these compounds can help you be more empowered to live healthier. And that’s important.

The Findings

Reportedly, NASA and partners found, in general, that plants could remove some harmful chemicals from the air, but not at extremely high levels. They could do a little. But not a lot.

Claiming that the results weren’t applicable to the average building, scientists noted that in order to remove significant amounts of these chemicals, you would need a lot of plants in a very small floor space. In addition, they found that certain chemicals were more vulnerable to these processes than others (we’ll get to that in a moment).

Researchers use things like English ivy. They looked at peace lily and bamboo palms. They also considered the weeping fig. Then there’s chrysanthemums and gerbera daisies, which have generally been known to be good for cleaning the air. Each of these plants was studied for its efficacy.

Modern Research on Benzene

What happens when you target particular contaminants? With plants? Well, you might get better results for one than for others.

Fast-forward to 2018, and groups at the University of Washington have genetically modified something called pothos ivy. This plant can scrub benzene and chloroform out of indoor air. It uses a protein called 2E1 that changes those two items into new compounds that are healthier for plants to use.

The benzene turns into phenyl, and the chloroform turns into carbon dioxide and chloride ions.

2E1 is common to human and mammal livers. In genetically modifying the plant, the team made it express that protein. They saw it “devour” benzene in the air.

By contrast, we haven’t seen studies where plants could eliminate formaldehyde or TCE in similar ways.

However, with protein folding and other new innovations, there is the potential for other genetic modifications that might allow us to use green plants for all kinds of air purification.

The NASA Program’s Legacy

Although our deep space program practically stalled out after the 1960s, that early research on house plants did, in a way, bear fruit. It showed us one way to reach those goals and objectives that we set in protecting our health within an enclosed space.

However, there is also new technology that addresses a broader range of contaminants, everything from formaldehyde and TCE to mold, dust mites, pet dander, and more.

Modern air purifiers are made with technology that can trap almost all of a given pollutant down to .3 microns, and that translates to a robust amount of protection for people who live or work in a building.

But how do you know what’s lurking in your indoor air?

First, you can use an air monitor to figure out what levels of benzene, formaldehyde or other contaminants are present.

Then you can install an air purifier that will use HEPA filtration or other means to cycle the air and remove all of these potentially harmful microbes.

For formaldehyde and benzene, which are classed as Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs, you want a machine that is good at filtering this kind of material out of the air. Often that’s with carbon, or a PECO system. 

US Air Purifiers LLC can help with questions about model design and engineering, and much more. Get the confidence that you need in your purchase, and the particular model that will help you improve your health, at home or at work. Your lungs will thank you!