Indoor Greening for Volatile Organic Compounds Reduction

The article deals with the implementation of plants to reduce the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the indoor environment of buildings, namely benzene, octane, toluene and trichlorethylene. Based on the simulation, which investigated the effect of 3 m2 of implemented plants in an office space with a total air volume of 74.7 m3, it was calculated that the plants have the potential to maintain benzene, toluene, octane and trichlorethylene concentrations and can replace part of the ventilated air. In the first state, the implemented greening was able to significantly reduce the requirement for the amount of ventilated air in the range of 96–100% because the implemented greenery is able to assimilate a similar amount of VOC as the expected imitation. In the second case, when the immediate reduction of the concentration to the level of 10% of the original value was required, the implemented greening did not significantly affect the amount of ventilated air, only in the range of 0.02–0.64%. However, when the required concentration corresponding to 10% of the initial value was reached, the plants again significantly reduced the requirement for ventilated air in the next 7 h of simulation, when they were able to assimilate similar amounts of VOC, octane, toluene and trichlorethylene exceeding the actual emission. Based on the simulation, the assumption was confirmed that the implementation of plants in the indoor environment can bring savings in the field of building ventilation, especially in the longer term, not with a short impact requirement for an immediate reduction in concentration. Based on the achieved results, it is appropriate to recommend the implementation of plants in the indoor environment for permanently reduction of the VOCs concentration.