Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Professor of Occupational Hygiene and Air Pollution, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt
2
Professor of Floriculture, Ornamental Horticulture, and Landscape Gardening, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Egypt
3
Agricultural Guide, Ministry of Agriculture, Alexandria, Egypt
Abstract
Home can be a source of various air pollutants due to different activities such as cooking and smoking. The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of phytoremediation in improving indoor air quality in homes in Alexandria, Egypt. This is an intervention study was conducted on 21 homes: 7 households from each zone (west, east and middle of Alexandria). Types of plants used during the course of the study included, Nephrolepis exaltata, Dracaena marginata, Spathiphyllum wallisii, Dypsis lutescens, Latania Livistona, Epipremnum aureum. The plants were obtained from Burj Al – Arab and Montazah palace nursery, in Alexandria. Plants were placed and maintained in the living rooms of the apartments under study as one plant for each 12 m 2 . NPK fertilizer was used to keep the plants in a good healthy condition. The removal efficiency of N. exaltata, D. marginata, S. wallisii ranged between (45.4 - 51%) & (36.2 - 42.7%) for CO 2 and VOCs, respectively. While the removing efficiency of D. lutescens and L. Livistona ranged between (40.9 - 41.8%) & (46 - 47.8%) for CO 2 and VOCs respectively. Also, the removing efficiency of E. aurums has ranged between (35.6 - 38.6%) & (32 - 34.3%) for CO2 and VOCs, respectively. The presence of elevated VOCs indicates strong contaminating source in the building. VEF of about 1 indicates that the bio effluent emissions prevail, while; VEF > 5 indicates the existence of strong abiotic VOCs sources, and finally; VEF < 0.3 indicates the existence of large combustion source of CO2
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