Removal of benzene by pot plants in test rooms

Four pot plant species, including Crassula portulacea, Cymbidium Golden Elf, Ficus microcarpa var. fuyuensis and Epipremnum aureum, were investigated for removing benzene under the similar conditions to resident rooms by using a control room and a treatment room simultaneously. The decay rates of benzene in both the control room and the treatment room followed the first-order law, and benzene decay rate constants (in the unit of h^-1 × 100) for the control room and the treatment room with ten pots of each investing species were 2.85, 4.13, 4.59 and 2.91, respectively. The half-life of benzene removal only due to the plant species was calculated to be 76.9, 26.8, 22.6 and 36.7, respectively for the above species. These results indicated that the investigated plant species especially for Ficus microcarpa var. fuyuensis and Epipremnum aureum are very effective for removing benzene, and these species should be advocated for being fostered in resident living room or office.