Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
in the scientific literature, the company claims that the rate of gas removal by
ANDREA is over 10 times faster than for passive indoor plants. The system is
affordable, retailing at £125 in the UK in 2014.
The Centre for Architecture Science and Ecology (
www.case.rpi.edu/
)
has
developed an active, hydroponic green wall system called the 'Active Modular
Phytoremediation Wall System' (AMPS). The system uses a building's ventilation
system for increasing the exposure of air to the hydroponic medium.
The Australian company, Junglefy (
www.junglefy.com
) has developed an
active botanical air cleaning system for use in both new buildings and as a retrofit.
Like the AMPS system, Junglefy uses a modular design that allows flexible
installation in different areas of buildings.
8.12 Conclusions
The importance of IAQ to the industrialised world is increasing dramatically. The
U.S. market for IAQ was valued at nearly $7 billion in 2011 and is projected to
reach nearly $9.2 billion in 2017, a 5-year compound annual growth rate of 4.6 %.
The equipment component of the industry is expected to account for $4.7 billion in
2017 (BCC Research
2014
). Thus the acceleration of research into biological air
cleaning systems is timely. Whilst there is no doubt these systems have functional
potential, issues such as microbial safety, long-term efficiency, CO
2
emissions,
maintenance costs and energy use for active systems are yet to be sufficiently
addressed to be able to recommend systems to meet all applications. The rapid
development of industrial waste gas biofilters has demonstrated that with a con-
certed research effort, rapid progress can be made. However, the primary current
problem facing research to improve on simple potted plants as bioremediators of
IAQ is that the process is, in a way, answering a problem no one has yet asked. The
general public has yet to fully embrace the concept of botanically based air
purification systems in their simplest form: claims of further developments largely
fall on deaf ears.
References
Afrin S (2009) Green skyscraper: integration of plants into skyscrapers. Kungliga Tekniska
Hogskolan, Stockholm
Adan OCG, Samson RA (2011) Fundamentals of mold growth in indoor environments and
strategies for healthy living. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen
ASHRAE (2011) GreenGuide: the design, construction, and operation of sustainable buildings,
3rd edn.
http://www.ashraeregion12.org/?p=105
. Accessed 15 Dec 2013
Auvinen J, Wirtanen L (2008) The influence of photocatalytic interior paints on indoor air
quality. Atmos Environ 42:4101-4112
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