The NASA Clean Air Study was a project led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in association with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) in 1989, to research ways to clean the air in sealed environments such as space stations. Its results suggested that, in addition to absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen through photosynthesis, certain common indoor plants may also provide a natural way of removing volatile organic pollutants (benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene were tested).^[1]

These results are not applicable to typical buildings, where outdoor-to-indoor air exchange already removes VOCs at a rate that could only be matched by the placement of 10–1000 plants/m² of a building's floor space.^[2]

The results also failed to replicate in future studies, with a 2014 review stating that:^[3]

While the plant's ability to take up VOCs is well documented in laboratory studies, the effect of plants on indoor air in complex environments like offices requires further investigations to clarify the full capacity of plants in real-life settings.

The following plants were tested during the initial 1989 study:^[4]

• Variegated snake plant / mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii)
• English ivy (Hedera helix)
• Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa')
• Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
• Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
• Red-edged dracaena, marginata (Dracaena marginata)
• Cornstalk dracaena, mass cane/corn cane (Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana')
• Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)^[5]
• Barberton daisy, gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
• Florist's chrysanthemum, pot mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
• Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis "Janet Craig")
• Warneckei (Dracaena deremensis "Warneckei")

Since the release of the initial 1989 study, titled A study of interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement: An Interim Report,^[6] further research has been done including a 1993 paper^[7] and 1996 book^[8] by B. C. Wolverton, the primary researcher on the original NASA study, that listed additional plants and focused on the removal of specific chemicals. A different study in 2004 has also shown that the micro-organisms in the soil of a potted plant remove benzene from the air, and that some plant species themselves also contribute to removing benzene.^[9]

Other studies

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Amount removed column can be merged with remove-or-not column using {{yes|123}} syntax. (May 2022)

Plants studied in various similar studies on air filtration:

More information Plant, removes:, benzene ...

Plant, removes:	benzene[10]	Total µg/h of benzene removed[10]	formaldehyde[10][8][7]	Total µg/h of formaldehyde removed[10][7]	trichloroethylene[10]	Total µg/h of trichloroethylene removed[10]	xylene and toluene[7]	ammonia[7]
Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii)	No		Yes[8]	1,385[7]	No		Yes	No
Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens)	No		Yes[8]		No		Yes	No
Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata 'Bostoniensis')	No		Yes[8]	1,863[7]	No		Yes	No
Kimberley queen fern (Nephrolepis obliterata)	No		Yes[8]	1,328[7]	No		Yes	No
English ivy (Hedera helix)	Yes	579	Yes[8]	402[10] -1,120[7]	Yes	298	Yes	No
Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)	No		Yes[10]	560[7]	No		Yes	No
Devil's ivy, Pothos plant (Epipremnum aureum)	Yes		Yes[10]		No		Yes	No
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa')	Yes	1,725	Yes[8]	674[10]	Yes	1,128	Yes	Yes
Flamingo lily (Anthurium andraeanum)	No		Yes		No		Yes	Yes
Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)	Yes[8][11]	604	Yes[8][11]	183[4]	No		No	No
Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)	Yes	1,420	Yes[10][8]	3,196[10]	Yes	688	Yes	No
Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)	Yes		Yes[7]	660[7]	Yes		Yes[7]	Yes[7]
Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa)	Yes		Yes[7]	876[7]	Yes		Yes[7]	Yes[7]
Variegated snake plant, mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')	Yes[8]	1,196[4]	Yes[10]	1,304[10]	Yes[8]	405	Yes	No
Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron cordatum)	No		Yes[10]	353[10]	No		No	No
Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum)	No		Yes[10]	361[10]	No		No	No
Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)	No		Yes[10]	416[10]	No		No	No
Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata)	Yes	1,264	Yes[10]	853[10]	Yes	1,137	Yes	No
Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana')	Yes		Yes[10]	938[7]	Yes	421	Yes	No
Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)[5]	No		Yes[8]	940[7]	No		Yes	No
Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)	Yes	4,486	Yes[8]		Yes	1,622	No	No
Florist's chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)	Yes	3,205	Yes[10][8]	1,450[7]	Yes		Yes	Yes
Rubber plant (Ficus elastica)	No		Yes[8]		No		No	No
Dendrobium orchids (Dendrobium spp.)	No		Yes[7]	756[7]	No		Yes	No
Dumb canes (Dieffenbachia spp.)	No		Yes[7]	754[7]	No		Yes	No
King of hearts (Homalomena wallisii)	No		Yes[7]	668[7]	No		Yes	No
Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.)	No		Yes[7]	240[7]	No		Yes	No
Aloe vera (Aloe vera)	Yes[12]		Yes		No		No	No
Janet Craig (Dracaena fragrans "Janet Craig/Cornstalk Plant")	Yes[1]	1,082	Yes[1]	1,361[7] - 2,037[10]	Yes[1]	764	Yes[7]	No
Warneckei (Dracaena deremensis "Warneckei")	Yes[1]	1,630	Yes[1]	760[7]	Yes[1]	573	Yes[7]	No
Banana (Musa acuminata)	No		Yes[1]	488[10]	No		No	No

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• Dracaena reflexa
• Green wall
• Indoor air quality
• Phytoremediation
• Rain garden
• Sick building syndrome