EFFECTIVENESS OF PLANT-BASED IONISERS TO REDUCE TOTAL VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (TVOCS) AND MICROBES IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

Abstract

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a prevalent concern given that humans are indoors majority of their time. Moreover, vast changes in building designs and technological advancement along the years means that various air pollutants could be introduced into the built environment – commonly TVOCs and microbial contamination. Upholding a high standard of IAQ is thus important to protect the health and safety of building occupants. With the unexpected impact from COVID-19 and the likelihood of future pandemics, it is important for the industry to strengthen its study on newer innovative solutions that can help to improve Singapore’s IAQ standards.

The aim of this study is to understand how TVOCs and microbes in Singapore’s built environment may be reduced by using a plant-based ioniser. A literature review of some of the common solutions in removing these contaminants as well as some guidelines provided by the National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore is carried out while highlighting their limitations. Plant based ionisers are then introduced and several experiments are developed and conducted to investigate its influence on the TVOC and microbial contamination levels. This study established that the plant-based ioniser does not fully remove the contaminants but is effective in breaking up groups of concentrated contaminants via the attachment of negative air ions released by the plant-based ioniser. Chunks of concentrated contaminants are prevented which lowers the risk of impact if building occupants were to come into contact with them. The plant-based ionisers could compliment well with the NEA guidelines to raise the IAQ standards in Singapore. Apart from the analysis, limitations and recommendations will also be discussed at the end of this research study.