Reducing Indoor Air Pollutants Through Biotechnology - Biotechnologies and Biomimetics for Civil Engineering - page 190

Fig. 8.2 A green wall installation at the University of Technology, Sydney (image by the

authors)

along with their air quality effects. Alternately, biofiltration systems that are
remote from the indoor space their service would presumably provide less psy-
chological benefits over traditional potted plants. Whilst the primary goal of the
biotechnological approaches discussed in this paper are clearly air quality
improvement, it would be advantageous to quantify the potential side effects on
other aspects of building occupant workplace quality when assessing the overall
efficacy of any system.

8.9 Microbial Systems

Microbial systems that operate without the synergy of higher plants have received
more research than the latter systems, and there is thus a clearer understanding of
their performance potential. These systems rely on the well-recognized capacity of
microorganisms to use VOCs as carbon sources, and sometimes with the addition
of physical filtration to remove particulate matter to complete their air cleaning
process. Bacteria are the group of microorganisms generally utilised in these