Luftrensende jord og planter

Denne liste over luftrensende planter blev lavet af NASA som en del af NASA Clean Air Study, der forskede i forskellige måder at rense rumstationers luft på, men forskningsresultaterne kan også anvendes til topisolerede boliger. Alle planter absorberer carbondioxid (CO₂) og frigiver som affaldsprodukt oxygen (ilt); herudover eliminerer/absorberer luftrensende planter betydelige mængder af en eller flere af disse usunde flygtige organiske forbindelser (VoC):

Benzen – anvendes og frigøres bl.a. fra: benzin, blæk, olie, maling, plast og gummi.
formaldehyd – frigøres bl.a. fra limen i spånplader (møbler, køkkener...). Ved afbrænding af naturgas, petroleum – og i cigaretrøg.
trichlorethylen – anvendes og frigøres bl.a. fra: trykfarver, maling, lakker...
CO, carbonmonooxid – dannes af gasblus, pejse...
Nitrogendioxid, NO₂.

De fleste af disse planter udviklede sig i tropiske eller subtropiske miljøer. Pga. deres evne til at gro ved en reduceret mængde sollys, gør deres blade dem i stand til at leve af fotosyntese i husbelysning.

NASAs anbefalinger er at have 15 til 18 pænt store luftrensende potteplanter med en diameter på 15-20 cm i en bolig på 170 m². Mængden af eksponeret jordoverflade er også vigtig, da jordoverfladen, rødder og/eller mikrober fjerner nogle af de usunde stoffer. I 2025 blev det offentliggjort af forskere fra Monash University, at visse mikrober i jorden fjerner store mængder giftig CO fra atmosfæren, som jordens befolkning tilfører via deres aktiviteter.

Dog udsender jordmikrober og mange planter om dagen andre flygtige organiske forbindelser (VoC). Det er pt (2011) ukendt, om de er skadelige for os – eller om fordelen ved nogle potteplanter opvejer deres ulemper.

Plante v\ Topfjerner af→	Benzen (NASA)	formaldehyd (NASA,N) (W)	trichlorethylen (NASA)	xylen og toluen
Almindelig Vedbend (Hedera helix)	X	W
Væddeløber (Chlorophytum comosum)		N
Guldranke (Scindapsus aures eller Epipremnum aureum)		N
Fredslilje (bl.a. Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa') (Spathiphyllum wallisii?)	X	W	X
Aglaonema (bl.a. Aglaonema modestum)
Bambuspalme (Chamaedorea sefritzii) (Bjergpalme?)		N W
Bajonetplante eller svigermors skarpe tunge (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')		N
Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium, syn. Philodendron cordatum)		N
Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn. Philodendron selloum)		N
Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)		N
Drageblodstræ, Bånddracæna (Dracaena marginata)	X	N		X
Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragans 'Massangeana')		N
Afrikansk dracaena 'Janet Craig' (Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig')	X	W
Afrikansk dracaena 'Warneck' (Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii')	X		X	X
Kvælerfigen (Ficus benjamina)		W
Gerbera eller Pottegerbera (Gerbera jamesonii)	X	W	X
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)	X	N W	X
Gummifigen (Ficus elastica)		W
Bostonbregne (Nephrolepis exaltata "Bostoniensis")		W
Kimberly queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata)		W		X
Dværg daddelpalme (Phoenix roebelenii)		W		X
Guldpalme (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)				X
Dendrobium orkide (Dendrobium sp.)				X
Dieffenbachia (Camilla) (Dieffenbachia)				X
Dieffenbachia (Exotica) (Dieffenbachia)				X
(Homalomena wallisii)				X
Phalenopsis orkide (Phalenopsis sp.)				X

Potteplanter og arbejdsmiljø

Ifølge forskellige undersøgelser giver potteplanter på arbejdspladser øget koncentration, mindre sygefravær og dermed forbedret arbejdsmiljø.

Kilder/referencer

↑ Final Report - September 15, 1989, B.C. Wolverton, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Anne Keith Sverdrup Johnson, M.S. and Bounds, M.S. Technology, Inc.: Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement. This work was jointly supported by the NASA Office of Commercial Programs - Technology Utilization Division, and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), backup
1 2 3 Plants "Clean" Air Inside Our Homes (kilde NASA)
↑ "Foilage plants for removing indoor air pollutants from energy-efficient homes". B.C. Wolverton, Rebecca C. McDonald, E.A. Watkins, Jr. Economic Botany, 1984, pp. 224-228. (pdf)
1 2 1985, Journal of the Mississippi academy of sciences: "Foilage plants for indoor removal of the primary combustion gases carbon monooxide and nitrogen dioxide". B.C. Wolverton, Rebecca C. McDonald, Hayne H. Mesick. NASA (pdf)
↑ cleanairgardening.com: Top Houseplants for Improving Indoor Air Quality, backup
↑ zone10.com: NASA Study shows common plants help reduce indoor air pollution...., backup
1 2 American Society for Horticultural Science (2009, February 20). Indoor Plants Can Reduce Formaldehyde Levels. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 21, 2009 Citat: "...Complete plants removed approximately 80% of the formaldehyde within 4 hours. Control chambers pumped with the same amount of formaldehyde, but not containing any plant parts, decreased by 7.3% during the day and 6.9% overnight within 5 hours..The portion of formaldehyde that was reduced during the night was most likely absorbed through a thin film on the plant's surface known as the cuticle. Root zones of ficus removed similar amounts between night and day. However, japonica root zones removed more formaldehyde at night. Researchers consider microorganisms living among the soil and root system to be a major contributor to the reduction..."
↑ Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (2011, August 19). Nitrogen in the soil cleans the air. ScienceDaily Citat: "...Researchers from the Biogeochemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz found out that nitrogen fertilizer indirectly strengthens the self-cleaning capacity of the atmosphere...In nitrogen-rich soils the acid is formed from nitrite ions produced through microbiological transformations of ammonium and nitrate ions...they demonstrated the existence of this previously unnoticed pathway in the nitrogen cycle...The source of the high concentrations of HONO observed in the lower atmosphere had long been a mystery..."
↑ Artikelomtale: January 31, 2025, scitechdaily.com: New Research Reveals How Microbes Help Detoxify Our Atmosphere. Microbes consume large amounts of carbon monoxide using a specialized enzyme, helping regulate atmospheric CO levels Citat: "...“This enzyme is used by trillions of microbes in our soils and waters. These microbes consume CO for their own survival, but in the process inadvertently help us,” Ms Kropp said...“These microbes help clean our atmosphere,” Dr Gillett said. “This counteracts air pollution, which kills many millions of people each year, and also reduces global warming given CO is indirectly a greenhouse gas.”...“Microbes play countless roles essential for both human and planetary health. Yet, because they’re invisible and often misunderstood, their contributions frequently go unnoticed,” he said..."
↑ Open access: “Quinone extraction drives atmospheric carbon monoxide oxidation in bacteria” by Ashleigh Kropp, David L. Gillett, Hari Venugopal, Miguel A. Gonzálvez, James P. Lingford, Surbhi Jain, Christopher K. Barlow, Jie Zhang, Chris Greening and Rhys Grinter, 29 January 2025, Nature Chemical Biology, backup Citat: "...Diverse bacteria and archaea use atmospheric CO as an energy source for long-term survival...CO is both a potent poison of multicellular life and a high-energy fuel and carbon source for microorganisms...Microbial consumption accounts for an estimated 10–15% of CO removed from the atmosphere (approximately 250 million tons annually)...However, CO provides a supplementary energy source for vast numbers of dormant bacteria present in soils, oceans and other nutrient-deprived environments, allowing them to persist during starvation..."
↑ American Society for Horticultural Science (2009, September 6). Indoor Plants Found To Release Volatile Organic Compounds. ScienceDaily Citat: "...The study concluded that "while ornamental plants are known to remove certain VOCs, they also emit a variety of VOCs, some of which are known to be biologically active. The longevity of these compounds has not been adequately studied, and the impact of these compounds on humans is unknown."..."
1 2 3 Wolverton, B.C. (1996) How to Grow Fresh Air. New York: Penguin Books. amazon
↑ 30.09.09, fpn.dk: Så meget magt har potteplanterne, backup
↑ Virginia I. Lohr and Caroline H. Pearson-Mims, Washington State University: Impact of interior plants on human stress and productivity, backup
↑ Virginia I. Lohr and Caroline H. Pearson-Mims, Washington State University: Impact of interior plants on relative humidity and dust, backup
↑ 1998, Tove Fjeld, Bo Veiersted, Leiv Sandvik, Geir Riise, Finn Levy, Indoor and Built Environment: The Effect of Indoor Foliage Plants on Health and Discomfort Symptoms among Office Workers, backup

[NASAwolverton85-1] Final Report - September 15, 1989, B.C. Wolverton, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Anne Keith Sverdrup Johnson, M.S. and Bounds, M.S. Technology, Inc.: Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement. This work was jointly supported by the NASA Office of Commercial Programs - Technology Utilization Division, and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), backup

[NASAwolverton-2] 1 2 3 Plants "Clean" Air Inside Our Homes (kilde NASA)

[WolvertonPdf-3] "Foilage plants for removing indoor air pollutants from energy-efficient homes". B.C. Wolverton, Rebecca C. McDonald, E.A. Watkins, Jr. Economic Botany, 1984, pp. 224-228. (pdf)

[MSAcad-85-4] 1 2 1985, Journal of the Mississippi academy of sciences: "Foilage plants for indoor removal of the primary combustion gases carbon monooxide and nitrogen dioxide". B.C. Wolverton, Rebecca C. McDonald, Hayne H. Mesick. NASA (pdf)

[5] rgardening.com: Top Houseplants for Improving Indoor Air Quality, backup

[6] zone10.com: NASA Study shows common plants help reduce indoor air pollution...., backup

[ASH-7] 1 2 American Society for Horticultural Science (2009, February 20). Indoor Plants Can Reduce Formaldehyde Levels. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 21, 2009 Citat: "...Complete plants removed approximately 80% of the formaldehyde within 4 hours. Control chambers pumped with the same amount of formaldehyde, but not containing any plant parts, decreased by 7.3% during the day and 6.9% overnight within 5 hours..The portion of formaldehyde that was reduced during the night was most likely absorbed through a thin film on the plant's surface known as the cuticle. Root zones of ficus removed similar amounts between night and day. However, japonica root zones removed more formaldehyde at night. Researchers consider microorganisms living among the soil and root system to be a major contributor to the reduction..."

[8] Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (2011, August 19). Nitrogen in the soil cleans the air. ScienceDaily Citat: "...Researchers from the Biogeochemistry Department at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz found out that nitrogen fertilizer indirectly strengthens the self-cleaning capacity of the atmosphere...In nitrogen-rich soils the acid is formed from nitrite ions produced through microbiological transformations of ammonium and nitrate ions...they demonstrated the existence of this previously unnoticed pathway in the nitrogen cycle...The source of the high concentrations of HONO observed in the lower atmosphere had long been a mystery..."

[9] Artikelomtale: January 31, 2025, scitechdaily.com: New Research Reveals How Microbes Help Detoxify Our Atmosphere. Microbes consume large amounts of carbon monoxide using a specialized enzyme, helping regulate atmospheric CO levels Citat: "...“This enzyme is used by trillions of microbes in our soils and waters. These microbes consume CO for their own survival, but in the process inadvertently help us,” Ms Kropp said...“These microbes help clean our atmosphere,” Dr Gillett said. “This counteracts air pollution, which kills many millions of people each year, and also reduces global warming given CO is indirectly a greenhouse gas.”...“Microbes play countless roles essential for both human and planetary health. Yet, because they’re invisible and often misunderstood, their contributions frequently go unnoticed,” he said..."

[10] Open access: “Quinone extraction drives atmospheric carbon monoxide oxidation in bacteria” by Ashleigh Kropp, David L. Gillett, Hari Venugopal, Miguel A. Gonzálvez, James P. Lingford, Surbhi Jain, Christopher K. Barlow, Jie Zhang, Chris Greening and Rhys Grinter, 29 January 2025, Nature Chemical Biology, backup Citat: "...Diverse bacteria and archaea use atmospheric CO as an energy source for long-term survival...CO is both a potent poison of multicellular life and a high-energy fuel and carbon source for microorganisms...Microbial consumption accounts for an estimated 10–15% of CO removed from the atmosphere (approximately 250 million tons annually)...However, CO provides a supplementary energy source for vast numbers of dormant bacteria present in soils, oceans and other nutrient-deprived environments, allowing them to persist during starvation..."

[11] American Society for Horticultural Science (2009, September 6). Indoor Plants Found To Release Volatile Organic Compounds. ScienceDaily Citat: "...The study concluded that "while ornamental plants are known to remove certain VOCs, they also emit a variety of VOCs, some of which are known to be biologically active. The longevity of these compounds has not been adequately studied, and the impact of these compounds on humans is unknown."..."

[Wolverton1996-12] 1 2 3 Wolverton, B.C. (1996) How to Grow Fresh Air. New York: Penguin Books. amazon

[13] 30.09.09, fpn.dk: Så meget magt har potteplanterne, backup

[14] Virginia I. Lohr and Caroline H. Pearson-Mims, Washington State University: Impact of interior plants on human stress and productivity, backup

[15] Virginia I. Lohr and Caroline H. Pearson-Mims, Washington State University: Impact of interior plants on relative humidity and dust, backup

[16] 1998, Tove Fjeld, Bo Veiersted, Leiv Sandvik, Geir Riise, Finn Levy, Indoor and Built Environment: The Effect of Indoor Foliage Plants on Health and Discomfort Symptoms among Office Workers, backup