Clean indoor air with a filter from the tree

Do not expect to be safe in the house. You are poisoned by the gas generated from furniture, carpets, wall paint . Two experts have created a type of filter that includes plants and fans to clean up these toxins.

The filter has two inlet fans, poisonous leaves, roots and pots of treated soil, and clean air is blown out by fans.(Photo: dezeen.com)

Experts say even in expensive apartments, toxic levels of gas (such as formaldehyde and benzene) can be as high as five times outdoors.

However, most air filters on the market today can only collect particles such as dust and pollen, rather than organic compounds such as formaldehyde and benzene, and the filter in them must be replaced. regularly.

Therefore, Mathieu LeHanneur and David Edwards (a French product designer, and a Harvard University biomedical engineer, USA) have created a super-efficient filtration system that eliminates the maximum of toxic gases. with ingredients of natural origin: plants.

The duo turned over NASA research from the 1980s on plants that absorb chemicals through roots and leaves. Philodendra, for example, can absorb formaldehyde as much as CO2.

Activity diagram of the tree filter.(Photo: Popsci)

However, plants can only clean the air that touches them. Therefore, to clean up the room quickly and effectively, LeHanneur has built a box that can suck air in the room through the entire trunk, from roots to leaves.

A fan will gently blow air through the leaves, and the second fan draws air through a hole in the roots. Bacteria on plant roots transform toxins even more than leaves, and the soil will work as a traditional charcoal filter. Under the potting soil, a tray of water to create moisture will help the plant survive and capture more toxic gas molecules.

A hole in the box will release clean air into the room.

In the first tests, the device reduced the amount of formaldehyde in the laboratory to 80% after just 1 hour.

The filter called Bel-Air is on display at the exhibition in the Le Laboratoire museum, Paris. The next step of the research team is to find a partner company to put the design into production.