3 ms·
It is simply not feasible to lower co2 in a space with a few plants. Ventilation is the only method that works. This is trivial to test. Just get a monitor, wa
by graeme 6y ago
It is simply not feasible to lower co2 in a space with a few plants. Ventilation is the only method that works.
This is trivial to test. Just get a monitor, walk into a room with plants, close door, and start breathing. Check change in co2 after 15-30 min.
Vent the room, remove plants, repeat. Results should be equivalent.
Plants store co2 by growing. They do not grow quickly enough to deal with emissions from your breath.
- nip180 6y agoTo put a number on it, you exhale ~2.3lb of CO2 a day. You should also consider that much of a plants mass is water, so it would require a significant amount of plant matter to scrub the air. I once did the math, and found that an algae tank can theoretically offset a person’s entire CO2 emissions but that it would require a large external tank and I was living in an apartment at the time.
- scruple 6y agoThere have been studies on indoor plants and air quality. The most well-known of which, I believe, was the NASA Clean Air Study [0]. The study suggested 1 plant per 100 sq. ft. but a space station obviously isn't the same thing as a dwelling. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study
- ActionPlankton 6y agoOnce you have the carbon in biomass, what do you do with it? Dry it out and heat it enough to make biochar?
- nip180 6y agoVery good question. I had two avenues in mind, fungus and compost.