[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6915\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EArtificial forest air and light-based chemical reactions tackle indoor pollution \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetergents, tobacco, cosmetics, new furniture, paints, printers and even pets \u2013 all these release different chemicals that millions of people breathe on a daily basis. Some are harmless, but others can cause a wide range of short- and long-term health problems, from eye irritation and headaches to heart problems and cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The biggest risk at the moment is we don\u2019t fully understand human bodies,\u2019 said Niko J\u00e4rvinen, founder of Naava, a Finnish company that improves indoor air quality using plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJ\u00e4rvinen says that limits of acceptable exposure to indoor pollutants are \u2018at best\u2019 decided by researching a single chemical\u2019s impact on our health. But this approach doesn\u2019t consider the potential health effects when different chemicals interact with each other \u2013 which could change a chemical\u2019s level of toxicity and pose a greater risk to humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018For chemicals being used commercially there is usually info available when they are harmful to health in terms of six, eight or ten hours,\u2019 said J\u00e4rvinen. \u2018They never take into account if you have two, three or a hundred chemicals (in the air at the same time).\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn an office environment the air could contain over 300 chemicals, adds J\u00e4rvinen, but the risk isn\u2019t coming from the amount of chemicals \u2013 it is more from the mix, because it is harder to tell if a perceived safe chemical has interacted with other chemicals and become harmful.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVentilation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat\u2019s more, there is a trend of building offices that are sealed in, meaning they rely on ventilation systems circulating air through filters rather than someone opening the window to let fresh air in.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In the past we were able to open the windows if the ventilation system was not working efficiently enough, nowadays that\u2019s not possible and you can\u2019t generally update a ventilation system (because it is so expensive),\u2019 said J\u00e4rvinen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of a research project called Naturbo, Naava refined a series of air-cleaning walls which use plants as a biofilter. Specific plants chosen for their purification potential absorb the dirty indoor air which is then broken down by microbes in their roots. Naava uses a soilless growth system to stimulate microbe activity and then a fan blows the cleaned air back into a room.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to J\u00e4rvinen, a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/ina.12473\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Estudy\u003C\/a\u003E carried out by the University of Eastern Finland and University of Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 on the purification efficiency of a single Naava biofilter against a static potted houseplant found that chemical concentrations were nearly non-existent in an hour within a test chamber, while, in the same time, the potted plant had not removed 80% of the chemicals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Indoor air is much more polluted than outdoors because of the additional chemicals we use inside.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Burcu G\u00fcvenatam, Senior Specialist, Ar\u00e7elik A.\u015e \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than create a completely sterile space, however, the aim is to recreate an environment that is found in nature.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJ\u00e4rvinen says you can find 30-50 natural chemicals in forest air depending on location and time of the year, such as phytoncide, an organic compound which can boost the immune system. Naava studied Finnish forests and used them as a reference point in terms of what clean air should be and aims to recreate it through their products.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJ\u00e4rvinen hopes this approach will ensure safe air in an indoor environment, but he says that just because more scientific work is needed to understand indoor air pollution, he doesn\u2019t think everyone should start panicking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018People shouldn\u2019t be afraid, it is understanding this (that) is a huge unknown and in the end it might not matter at all, but at the same time we need to admit we don\u2019t know enough,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImproving public awareness is a key issue in minimising indoor air pollution, according to Dr Burcu G\u00fcvenatam, an air quality specialist from Ar\u00e7elik A.\u015e, a Turkish research and development business based in Istanbul.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Indoor air is much more polluted than outdoors because of the additional chemicals we use inside,\u2019 she said. \u2018People are not aware that the products they are using contain many chemicals that they breathe every second.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is significant because the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/indoor-air-quality.jrc.ec.europa.eu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eaverage European spends 90%\u003C\/a\u003E of their time inside.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith increased public awareness comes more informed consumers that can drive demand for cleaner products from different industries, but in the meantime, there is a need for purification technology to ensure that the air at home and in work is safe to breathe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReaction\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr G\u00fcvenatam is working on another next-generation air purifier which uses a process called photocatalytic oxidation (PCO). This is a process that combines light and a semiconductor material called titanium dioxide which causes a reaction that can quickly absorb chemicals from the air and convert pollutants into carbon dioxide and water.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPCO systems work by blowing indoor air into a device where the light-based chemical reaction can take place, but Dr G\u00fcvenatam says that during the course of the reaction harmful airborne pollutants might also be formed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If we cannot optimise PCO systems we could release intermediate products which could be much more hazardous (than the dirty air it is trying to clean),\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, a poorly designed PCO system could release formaldehyde, a harmful type of chemical known as a volatile organic compound, that could affect the nervous system as well as cause cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, Dr G\u00fcvenatam says that the process behind PCO is complicated and needs more investigation. \u2018Reaction mechanisms of PCO technology on air purification is not fully understood yet,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough a research project called nanoPhotoMat, Dr G\u00fcvenatam is aiming to understand more about how by-products of the reaction are formed and degrade, in order to make safer photocatalytic materials that promote effective removal of these compounds, and other pollutants, under the illumination of visible light.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the project is running until 2019, the team has already developed a prototype which they are already trialling in some of Ar\u00e7elik\u2019s meeting rooms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In my lab we are testing various filtering materials and different technological solutions that can deal with volatile organic compounds,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018All these volatile organic compounds stick to our skin and are absorbed and when we breathe we take them into our brain and lungs. It is very important for us to optimise the system very well.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/IMCEUpload\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 alt width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe lead of this article was\u0026nbsp;updated on 4 September to highlight that the Naava system uses plants as natural bio-filters.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-gkiycoblktzqab2mwegnqb4c90vhebr-sixdt50qvzw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-gKiyCoblKtZqAb2mWEgnQb4C90VheBR_SiXDt50Qvzw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]