Innovative Green Technology for Cleaner Indoor Air
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Introduction
Pollution! It's everywhere! Climate change has shifted more than our weather patterns, it’s changed the concentration of pollutants floating in our environments, into our lungs, raising respiratory illnesses and other diseases. We often associate pollution as being atmospheric and don’t give much thought to the contaminants we are exposed to in our daily indoor routines. We should be! Most of our time is now spent indoors breathing in harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Public spaces and our private residences are ground zero for toxins. These settings collect high concentrations of dust, mold and fungus mixed in with chemical residue from cleaning products and formaldehyde commonly found in wood floors and furniture. At home, domestic tasks like cooking with gas, and cleaning without proper ventilation release vapors into the air that can negatively impact our physical and mental well-being.
What Can We Do About It?
Developing a line of GINKGO Air monitoring and purification products was a natural extension to our service envelope of installing and maintaining green roofs, living walls and ground installations. The research and innovation behind Stomata, Aether and Smart Green Walls is the breakthrough attributed to Joel Ferguson, our Director of Innovation. His background in Industrial design, education and research were vital building blocks on this journey. Ferguson has dedicated decades to studying air pollution and its negative impacts on humans. He designs with purpose. It’s personal. As a child he celebrated too many childhood milestones in Sick Kids Hospital due to severe asthma which led to other health complications. Breathing, something most of us likely don’t think about, even take for granted, is something that Joel never stops thinking about.
Our Disruptive Technology Is Pro-active, Productive and Proven
Our eco-system was built on the principle of merging and managing genetics, data control, irrigation and air movement. We started by engineering plants so that they not only capture more Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are carcinogenic, but transform them into Phenol that the plant can use. We intentionally selected Pothos, a common houseplant that for reasons unknown to us has not naturally flowered since 1958. Our in-house propagation produces plants with a larger leaf area than normal without using soil or other types of growing medium. Without soil, we eliminate the breeding ground that exposes plants and their environments to bacteria and fungus. Through engineering we were able to produce larger leaves on the Pothos producing more stomata which are essentially the mouth of plants and found on the underside or tongue of the leaf. The more mass, the more stomata, the more VOCs are absorbed.
Left: Micro propagation of Pothos in the lab. Center: Pothos mass. Right: VOC test chamber. Photos: Ginkgo Sustainability
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Joel Ferguson setting up a new Stomata proto-type at CitiesAlive 2024 in Toronto. Photo: Ginkgo Sustainability
Getting the Water Right
Most hydroponic systems are top-down drip systems. Our proprietary irrigation system PulseWaveVaporponics has been designed so there is no recirculated water or nutrients. The number one irrigation issue with living walls and other vegetative based solutions is that they are either over or under saturated, both equally detrimental to the health of plants. Our innovation delivers zero waste, zero bacteria and zero mold. This translates to dramatically reduced maintenance, cost efficiencies as well as much healthier air quality.
Our high efficiency, low decibel Electronic Control Module (ECM) blowers are available in a range of sizes from 720, 1,165 to 2,000 CFM (Cubic Feet of air per Minute). Both Stomata and Aether Systems use a complex algorithm that sources data from both the AQM (Air Quality Sensor) and the Filter Monitoring Sensors to control the speed of the blower. The blower will only increase power when required to keep the room free of pollutants. We know before it happens when filters will matt up and clog, no other system does this, eliminating the problem of changing clean filters too early or dirtier ones too late. With up to 6 stages of filtration including: a pre-filter that removes larger particles, a heavy pleated High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter for smaller ones and a carbon filter that takes out chemicals, this trifecta means a larger surface area of air is moved through the system. Our technology removes 99.99% of all pollutants from the indoor air. We prove it with accurate readings every 15 seconds, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Plant Propagation unit in our R&D Centre in Oakville. Photos: Ginkgo Sustainability
Move the Air and Change the Air
Stagnant air accumulates pathogens, reduces oxygen levels and creates damp environments which are a perfect environment for mold, bacteria and viruses. In closed spaces without proper filtration this can create havoc on the health of the occupants. Our plants truly filter the air and until now there isn’t a commercially viable plant that can do what ours does.
Conclusion
Better air quality changes the way your employees produce, feel and move through their environments. The only thing you have to lose is poor air quality.
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Christian Mahlstedt is the president of Ginkgo Sustainability. You can reach him at: sales@ginkgosustainability.com
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Ginkgo Sustainability offers a full line of solutions and finishes for its green walls including integrated branding options such as branding the millwork with your logo. Connect with us for a complimentary demonstration of the world’s most advanced air quality monitoring and hybrid purification system. Proudly made in Canada at our Research and Development Centre in Oakville.
