Improving Indoor Air Quality Through Botanical Air Filtration in Energy Efficient Residences Daniel William Newkirk Purdue University
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Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Open Access Theses Theses and Dissertations Spring 2014 Improving Indoor Air Quality through Botanical Air Filtration in Energy Efficient Residences Daniel William Newkirk Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses Part of the Mechanical Engineering Commons, and the Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons Recommended Citation Newkirk, Daniel William, "Improving Indoor Air Quality through Botanical Air Filtration in Energy Efficient Residences" (2014). Open Access Theses. 228. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/228 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. *UDGXDWH6FKRRO(7')RUP 5HYLVHG 01 14 PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance 7KLVLVWRFHUWLI\WKDWWKHWKHVLVGLVVHUWDWLRQSUHSDUHG %\ Daniel W. Newkirk (QWLWOHG Improving Indoor Air Quality through Botanical Air Filtration in Energy Efficient Residences Master of Science )RUWKHGHJUHHRI ,VDSSURYHGE\WKHILQDOH[DPLQLQJFRPPLWWHH William Hutzel Michael Dana Ming Qu 7RWKHEHVWRIP\NQRZOHGJHDQGDVXQGHUVWRRGE\WKHVWXGHQWLQWKH Thesis/Dissertation Agreement. Publication Delay, and Certification/ Disclaimer (Graduate Schoo l Form 32 ) WKLVWKHVLVGLVVHUWDWLRQ adheres to the provisions of 3XUGXH8QLYHUVLW\¶V³3ROLF\RQ,QWHJULW\LQ5HVHDUFK´DQGWKHXVHRI FRS\ULJKWHGPDWHULDO William J. Hutzel $SSURYHGE\0DMRU3URIHVVRU V BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB $SSURYHGE\ James Mohler 03/31/2014 +HDGRIWKH Department *UDGXDWH3URJUDP 'DWH IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY THROUGH BOTANICAL AIR FILTRATION IN ENERGY EFFICIENT RESIDENCES A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Daniel W. Newkirk In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science May 2014 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana ii To the Vandendorpe family, for inspiring an inquisitive mindset ii iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people I would like to thank for helping make this thesis a reality. At the top of my list of professional acknowledgements are Professor Bill Hutzel and my other committee members, Doctor Mike Dana and Doctor Ming Qu. I appreciate their guidance and active input throughout the project. I would also like to thank Johann Buck of HortAmericas who provided technical support and one of the few products that actually worked the first time. Thanks goes to Controlled Environmental Services, specifically Jeff Marshall who drove hundreds of miles to hand deliver the most important instrument in the research. Also, I would like to thank the Purdue Sheet Metal Shop for their friendly and thorough service. Finally, I would like to thank the EPA and ASHRAE for their generous support of this research. There are also a number of personal acknowledgements I would like to make to iii my friends and family. First to my immediate family, Lynn, Terry, Bob and Genny Newkirk, I am thankful for your attentive support during numerous conversations where you probably had no idea what I was talking about. Next, to my girlfriend Lauren H. Logan, I am thankful for your patience during many stress filled evenings as a result of this project. I would also like to thank the ESE program for helping develop what has honestly been one of the best support networks I have ever had for professional development. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ........ ................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1 1.1 Problem Statement .....................................................................................1 1.2 Research Question ......................................................................................2 1.3 Scope ..........................................................................................................2 1.4 Significance ................................................................................................3 1.5 Definitions ..................................................................................................4 1.6 Assumptions ...............................................................................................5 1.7 Limitations .................................................................................................5 1.8 Delimitations ..............................................................................................6 1.9 Summary ....................................................................................................6 iv CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................7 2.1 Problems in Indoor Air Quality .................................................................7 2.2 Origins of Biofiltration .............................................................................10 2.3 NASA Research Background ...................................................................11 2.4 Modern Developments .............................................................................13 2.5 Gaseous Filter Analysis ...........................................................................18 2.6 Purdue Involvement .................................................................................21 2.7 Moving Forward ......................................................................................24 2.8 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................27 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................28 v Page 3.1 Apparatus Design .....................................................................................28 3.2 Experimental Design ................................................................................32 3.2.1 Environmental Chamber ...................................................................33 3.2.2 Hydronic System ...............................................................................34 3.2.3 Data Sources......................................................................................35 3.3 Experimental Protocol ..............................................................................37 3.3.1 Test Procedure ...................................................................................37 3.3.2 Stages of Testing ...............................................................................38 3.3.3 Threats to Validity.............................................................................39 3.4 Data Analysis ...........................................................................................40 3.5 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................41 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS .............................................................................................42 4.1 Indoor Air Quality ....................................................................................42 4.1.1 VOC Readings ..................................................................................42 4.1.2 Particle Readings ...............................................................................51 4.1.3 Background Conditions .....................................................................53 4.2 Experimental Energy ................................................................................54 4.3 Horticultural Results ................................................................................55 4.3.1 Plant Progression ...............................................................................56 v 4.3.2 Plant Evaluation ................................................................................57 4.4 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................58 CHAPTER 5. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS ....................................................60 5.1 Analysis ....................................................................................................60 5.1.1 Energy ...............................................................................................60 5.1.2 Statistics ............................................................................................70 5.2 Discussion ................................................................................................71 5.3 Future Work .............................................................................................71 5.4 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................74 REFERENCES ... ..............................................................................................................75 vi Page APPENDICES Appendix A: Statement of Work .......................................................................................79 Appendix B: Raw Data ......................................................................................................83 Appendix C: Instrumentation .............................................................................................96 Appendix D: Biowall