Testing the biofiltration capacity of a hydroponic green wall system for airborne VOCs

Air pollution is linked to 7 million deaths worldwide, making air quality one of the top ten global causes of death. Eighty percent of Canadians live in cities, and growing evidence suggests that indoor air within the built environment has significant health impacts. Our research will evaluate the contaminant removal capabilities of an active ‘living wall’ biofilter designed by a Canadian company for residential use. We will perform a sequence of experiments including short- and longer- term experiments to determine the differences between inflow and outflow air that has passed through the hydroponic living wall after being exposed to representative levels of volatile organic contaminants in indoor air. New Earth Solutions will receive results on the baseline performance of their unit as well as the relative contributions of the unit’s component parts (e.g., contaminant removal capacity of the porous synthetic substrate; the fertilized hydroponic irrigation water, plants, etc.).

Faculty Supervisor:

Stephanie Melles

Student:

Corbin Sparks

Partner:

New Earth Solutions

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Ryerson University