• KIEAE Journal
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.3-8
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• 2005

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of the Phytofiltration system on the improvement of indoor air quality. Measurement was performed in a full-scale mock up model to examine the purification efficiency of air by plants. Seven species of plants, which were recommended by NASA, were used in measurements. Two species of plants that showed outstanding purifying effects were chosen for further measurements. The measurements were performed according to the positions and amounts of plants. Thermal environment, the concentration of Toluene and Formaldehyde were monitored. Ficus Benjamiana and Aglaonema brevispathum were excellent in diluting the concentration of contaminants. The effect of diluting concentration became better as the amount of plants increased. The reducing effect was the best when the plants were placed near window.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2018.11a
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• pp.4-5
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• 2018

The water proofing sheet of synthetic polymer applies to the purification plant, the wastewater treatment center, the low waterway, the dosing tanks, etc, and when we construct these, we apply the dual waterproof by means of hot air staking welder or extruder. However, the experts skilled in the hot air welding or extruder does not use them, it can be a quality problem. Therefore, in this study, it is the purpose to verify whether the semi-automatic hot air staking welder and automatic extruder that can construct the waterproof sheet is possible in field even if it is not a professional specialist.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 1996.06c
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• pp.692-700
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• 1996

The objective of this study is to develop a systematic purification plant using the metabolism of aerobic microorganisms. This system is subsequently aerated and continuously removes suspended solids and settling sludges caused by aerating pressure at the bottom of a lower pipe (i.e., Continuous Removal of Suspended solids and Settling sludges, CRSS). The CRSS plants are brought out by introducing fine air bubbles into the liquid phase of a lower pipe in the bio-reactor. These plant uses aeration pipe, with multiple inlets to sweep the floor of bio-reactor tank, instead of the conventional scraper mechanisms. The principal advantage of this system is that it can continuously remove very small or light particles that settles completely within a short time. Once the particles have been floated to the surface, they can be moved into the pipe and collected in the settling tank by sequently aerated pressure. The experimental results shows that about 99.0% of the biochemical oxygen demand(BOD), 99.3% of the suspended solid(SS), 92.3% of the total nitrogen(T-N), 99.0% of the turbidity(TU), 100% of the total coliform(TC)and ammonia was respectively removed during aerobic digestion for 9 days. These result indicates that the CRS S plants are very effective for reduction and deodorization of swine wastewater contaminants, and the efflux from CRS S can either be discharged in the river or used as nutrient solution of formulation for plant growth factories. The developed CRSS plant proved to be flexible and it can simply be adapted to any type of biological waste treatment problem.roblem.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.647-654
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• 2020

Background and objective: Particulate matter (PM) is one of the serious environmental problems and threatens human health. Plants can clean the air by removing PM from the atmosphere. This study was carried out to investigate the PM removal efficiency of 12 species of woody plants. Methods: Actinidia arguta, Dendropanax morbiferus, Fraxinus rhynchophylla, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, Pittosporum tobira, Rhaphiolepis indica, Rhapis, Salix integra, Salix koreensis, Schisandra chinensis, Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki, and Vitis coignetiae were used as plant material. Six 15 cm (D) pots were placed in an acrylic chamber of 800 (D) × 800 (W) × 1000 (H) mm. The LED panel was used as a light source. The reduction of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 for 300 minutes after the injection of PM was automatically measured. Results: The leaf area and the amount of PM in the chamber showed a negative correlation. 12 species of plants were compared by dividing the plants into 3 groups according to their characteristics: vines, trees, and shrubs and small trees. In the vine plant group, the averages of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 7.917%, 8.796%, and 30.275%, respectively. In the shrubs and small trees group, the average of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 10.142%, 11.133%, and 36.448%, respectively. In the trees group, the average of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were 11.475%, 12.892%, and 40.421%, respectively. When the initial concentration was 100%, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 of Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki with the largest leaf area were 5.6%, 6.3%, and 21.0% after 5 hours, respectively, the best results among 12 species of plants. Conclusion: The vine plant group was more effective in removing PM than the other two groups. In the tree groups, the fact that the leaf development was relatively inactive at a plant height of 30 cm was considered to have an effect on the removal of particulate matter.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.79-87
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• 2014

The enrichment with nutrients in rivers and lakes becomes serious problems in Korea. As the environmental friendly solution, the phytoremediation are getting more attention and the water hyacinth could be a strong candidate plant for this. Water hyacinth is a free floating freshwater plant proven to be a effective plant used for a purification of a polluted lakes, sewage wastewater, and livestock wastewater. The biggest obstacles for application of water hyacinth in Korea could be the disposal of the water hyacinth before winter, because there is no feasible use for the water hyacinth until now. In this study, the characteristics of water hyacinth were deeply investigated for providing background data to develop appropriate application of the water hyacinth. The water hyacinth was fractioned three parts, leaf, air blader, root of which morphological properties were evaluated with microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The water contents of each parts of the water hyacinth were 87% for leaf, 96.5% for air bladder, 94.6% for root. The chemical compositions of each parts were also measured and showed around 29% of hot water extract in leaf and air bladder, 42% holocellulose for leaf, 47% holocellulose for air bladder. The application of water hyacinth biomass without root parts to papermaking provided bulkier structure, but the tensile strength was decreased.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.83-90
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• 2003

This study explored effects of urban greenspace on improving atmospheric environment, which is concerned with $CO_2$, SO$_2$ and NO$_2$ uptake, and with reduction of summer air temperatures. The site of this study was focused on Jung-gu in Seoul. Tree density and cover were 1.1 trees/100 $m^2$ and 12.5% respectively for the study area except forest lands. Atmospheric purification by greenspace was associated with changes in tree cover per unit area of each land use type. The mean $CO_2$ storage by woody plants was 19.4t/ha, and annual uptake averaged 2.2t/ha/yr for $CO_2$, 1.9kg/ha/yr for SO$_2$ and 5.0kg/ha/yr for NO$_2$. Entire tree plantings in the study area played a significant role by annually offsetting $CO_2$ emissions of about 1,830t from fossil fuel consumption by 330 persons, SO$_2$ emissions of 1,620kg by 1,080 persons, and NO$_2$ emissions of 4,230kg by 450 persons. The summer air temperature was 3.6$^{\circ}C$ cooler at a location with 54% cover of woody plants and 4.5$^{\circ}C$ cooler at a forest site with 100% cover, compared to a place with no planting. A 10% increase of woody plant cover was estimated to decrease summer air temperature by approximately 0.6$^{\circ}C$ until a certain level of canopy cover. Analyzing data from the Automatic Weather Stations in Seoul revealed that increasing tree cover decreased mean air temperature for the summer season (Jun~Aug) in a nonlinear function. Woody plant cover was the best predictive variable of summer temperature reduction. The results from this study are expected to be useful in emphasizing the environmental benefits and importance of urban greenspace enlargement, and in urging the necessity for planting and management budgets.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2020

In this study, we compared efficiency of different aquatic plants in removing indoor pollutants and examined their potential to purify indoor air. Two liter of water in chamber was used as the control, while the other chambers containing water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), and water coin (Hydrocotyle umbellata) were used as treatment groups. Temperatures inside all the chambers were maintained between 20 ℃ and 23 ℃. Humidity in the chambers with aquatic plants increased by 30% and 50% control respectively. The removal of formaldehyde per unit leaf area was examined in each aquatic plant. It turned out that water hyacinth removed the highest amount of formaldehyde, followed by water lettuce and water coin. Both water hyacinth and water lettuce increased the amount of removal of formaldehyde until the end of the experiment. In the case of airborne dust (PM 10) and fine dust (PM 2.5), water coin, which had the highest number of leaves, removed more PM 10 and PM 2.5 than the other aquatic plants, with statistically significant difference. In addition, both water coin and water hyacinth smoothly opened and closed stomata before and after the experiment. Consequently, as the aquatic plants were effective in controlling humidity and removing pollutants, they can be used as air purifying plants.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.603-614
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study was conducted to understand urban residents' perception of indoor plants in order to assist in the preparation of guidelines for growing plants indoors. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to urban residents currently growing plants or with experience of growing plants. The data of 247 respondents were subjected to analysis to assess their level of interest and ability with regard to growing plants, and their recognition of the selection and function of plants. Results: Respondents showed high interest in growing plants at a level of 6.77, but their ability was moderate. This suggests that information regarding plant maintenance should be provided to urban residents. They recognized the function of plants for improving the environment as important, and expected that indoor plants would improve their mood and visual experience. Satisfaction with growing plants was high from an emotional perspective. They recognized that the function of air purification function was important even if the actual performance or effect was not great. This indicates that the function of air purification should be emphasized more. As the result of the IPA, plants should be selected in consideration of morphological characteristics such as leaf, flower and fruit, and continuously managed to maintain their characteristics. Since the performance of pots was less satisfactory compared to their importance, they should be selected so that they harmonize better with plants and are of the appropriate size to fit the space. The type of plants is an important factor in plant selection in order to perform an environmental function, and the flower color and pot size are important in terms of aesthetics and healing. Conclusion: When horticulture information on indoor plants is provided to urban residents, first, it should be provided to satisfy the functions of the plants required by urban residents and in order to promote and maintain the proper growth of plants. Second, various contents that utilize components should be developed to achieve plant function so that resident can determine the function of plants and select the type, quantity, and shape of plants to achieve the desired function.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.21-28
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• 2022

Fine dust enters the lungs or blood vessels through the respiratory tract through the air. Recently, due to the fine dust problem, the demand for air purifiers in Korea is also increasing rapidly. Moss is the oldest terrestrial plant, and it is known that it has the property of adsorbing and decomposing heavy metals and fine dust. To compare the effect of reducing fine dust between moss and the existing chemical filter (Hepa), a cube of 1 m³ was manufactured and the amount of fine dust reduction under a controlled environment was compared. Under the fine dust conditions, an umbrella moss filter, rat tail moss filter, feather moss filter, and silk moss filter were inserted for a total of 40 experiments, 10 times each in 4 different situations. The difference between the amount after 30 minutes was statistically significant for all filters. However, as a result of the test, it was confirmed that there was no statistically significant difference between filters for fine dust, mixed gas, CO₂, and O₂. In particular, it was confirmed that the previously claimed effect of oxygen generation was almost nonexistent. Through this result, it was confirmed that the reduction of fine dust is effective regardless of the species view of moss, and it is expected to replace or supplement the chemical filter of the existing air purifier through future improvement.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.77-82
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• 2012

This study conducted the experiment of reduction of Volatile Organic Compounds(VOCs) and Formaldehyde concentration by Native plants, Fatsia japonica and Ardisia pusilla. The two plants are advantageous in that they are highly available as they grow wild, and being easy to get. Fatsia japonica is a plant of its wide and large leaf diverged 7 or 8 parts, which is thought to have a high effect of air purification. Ardisia pusilla has a smaller leaf than Fatsia japonica, which is characterized by more leaves and beautiful. Field measurements were performed using Fatsia japonica and Ardisia pusilla which were verified as air-purifying plants in Korea. The effect of reducing the concentration of VOCs and Formaldehyde by plant studied in a full scale mock-up model. The dimensions of the two models were equal. The concentration of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylene, Stylene, Formaldehyde were monitored, since they were known as most toxic materials. The concentration of VOCs was monitored three hours after the plants were placed and three days after the plants were placed. Field measurements were performed in models where the plants were placed and were not. As a result, they had all an effect of reducing pollution. In all cases of experiment of planting and growing volume, the more planting volume, the more excellent the effect. Toluene was more effective in Fatsia japonica and Ardisia pusilla planted, Formaldehyde was more effective in Fatsia japonica planted respectively. In planting and growing and placing experiment, the placement at sunny spot was more effective than that at scattered growing. When Fatsia japonica was placed at sunny spot, the reduction effect of Formaldehyde was the most excellent, and when Ardisia pusilla was placed at sunny spot, the reduction effect of Toluene was the most effective.