how to test air pollutants and which plant cleans air best

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elise777
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:45 pm

how to test air pollutants and which plant cleans air best

Post by elise777 »

I am doing an experiment to see which house plant removes the most indoor air pollutants. I need some help/suggestions with how to accurately test the air before and after to learn the levels of different air toxins. I bought the plants already but dont know quite how to test them.
I dont know how to test my experiment to know which plant filters the most pollutants from the air. i have the plants but need help with ways to test the air.
EmilyDolson
Former Expert
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:33 pm
Occupation: Student
Project Question: Human Impacts on Sea Otter Behavior
Project Due Date: March 2009
Project Status: I am conducting my research

Post by EmilyDolson »

Hi, Elise,

Great idea! Sounds like it is going to be a very interesting project.

First of all, you need to figure out exactly which toxins you want to test for. This depends on the exact purpose of your project. If you are just trying to determine overall air quality, I would reccomend using the EPA's six "criteria pollutatns," which are generally accepted indicators of air quality. These pollutants are ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfer dioxide, particulate matter, and lead. This site: http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/greenbk/o3co.html#Ozone provides a lot of good information on what each of these pollutants indicates, and how it can be tested. In general, the easiest way to test air quality would be to, if it is within your budget, get an atmospheric test kit that includes everything you need to do these basic tests. These are generally avaiable at science supply stores, but check with environmental science teachers at you school first, as they may already have some for use in labs.

If there is something more specific than general air quality that you are worried about, this site: http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/l ... a.html[url] provides links to a lot of really helpful sites about all sorts of pollutants and atmospheric testing background information, which may be helpful in narrowing down what you want to test for.

Once you have figured out what you are going to test and how, you will need to set up your experiment. You'll probably want to test the air where you will be performing your experiment before adding plants, to get a baseline reading. After that, you have a few options. Which one you choose really depends on what level of project you are aiming for and your grade level. The most detailed experimental design would probably require enclosing each plant in a fairly large (to avoid suffocation) container, and having another identical container with no plant. At given time intervals (you will have to figure out how fast the plants can change the atmosphere, which will dictate how often you should perform tests), you could repeat the atmospheric tests on each container. You can then analyze this data to see if, over time, the pollutants decreased in the environments including the plants. The empty containers would serve as controls, to make sure that this decrease wasn't occuring naturally, without plant involvement.

Depending on the requirements for your project, you may be able to simplify that a lot. For instance, if you have access to a sealed room, you could take a baseline measurement in that room and then put a plant in it. Then you could take the same sort of measurements that you would have in the above set-up. In this case, it would be assumed that all change in atmospheric pollutants was due to the plant, because no pollutants would be able to enter the sealed room.

I hope that made sense, and helped. If you have further questions, please ask! You project sounds like it should be fascinating and fun! Good luck.

- Emily Dolson[/url]
Reach for the stars and, if you miss, grab the moon!
elise777
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:45 pm

Ive looked everywhere on the web...any ideas

Post by elise777 »

Thanks for the info. I have looked for the "atmospheric test kit" and have found none ant any of the science supply sites. There is no such stores in my area. Do you know where I could purchase/borrow such a kit?
I dont know how to test my experiment to know which plant filters the most pollutants from the air. i have the plants but need help with ways to test the air.
EmilyDolson
Former Expert
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:33 pm
Occupation: Student
Project Question: Human Impacts on Sea Otter Behavior
Project Due Date: March 2009
Project Status: I am conducting my research

Post by EmilyDolson »

I would suggest first talking to science teachers at your school about where they buy their products, and if they have any equpment that you can borrow. Even if they don't have any atmospheric test kits, they may be able to get educator's discounts, or know the best suppliers for your area.

This is the kind we use in my environmental science class: http://www.lamotte.com/pages/edu/air.html. You can order them directly from the company, or find other distributors with the "where to buy" link on the right.

- Emily Dolson
Reach for the stars and, if you miss, grab the moon!
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