Design and Development of a Vertical Garden Station with Plants and an Automatic Fogging System for PM2.5 Reduction

This paper aims to improve the efficiency of filtering airborne dust particles smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) in a practical and applicable manner. The study explores three methods: a water spray system, a vertical garden system, and a combination. These systems, in a real-world scenario, transfer dust particles from a contaminated chamber to a second chamber. After 15 minutes, the water spray system reduced PM2.5 concentrations to $500\ \mu \mathrm{g}/\mathrm{m}^{3}$. The vertical garden alone achieved a PM2.5 concentration of $404\ \mu \mathrm{g}/\mathrm{m}^{3}$, while the combination of the spray system and vertical garden resulted in a PM2.5 concentration of $429\ \mu \mathrm{g}/\mathrm{m}^{3}$. These results suggest that the vertical garden system is the most effective at lowering PM2.5 levels, providing a practical solution for air quality improvement. Testing on Golden Pothos leaves within the vertical garden revealed that unwashed leaves reduced PM2.5 levels to $201\ \mu \mathrm{g}/\mathrm{m}^{3}$ within 75 minutes and to $223\ \mu \mathrm{g}/\mathrm{m}^{3}$ after 93 minutes. However, when leaves were washed before filtering, PM2.5 levels decreased to approximately $74-115 \mu \mathrm{g}/\mathrm{m}^{3}$ within 73 minutes. This indicates that washing the leaves mainly improves the reduction of PM2.5 compared to using the vertical garden system without washing the leaves. The system also includes a PM2.5 detection component using an ESP8266 microchip connected to a sensor. This setup displays PM2.5 levels on an LED screen and sends alerts via the Blynk IoT application if levels exceed a preset threshold. The Arduino program can trigger alerts if PM2.5 levels surpass the defined limit. Tests on the mist spraying system showed it operates with 100% efficiency. In terms of cost-effectiveness, the vertical garden system is a more economical option than traditional air purifiers. It has a lower initial investment and a more affordable annual maintenance cost. Unlike conventional air purifiers, which incur higher yearly costs and require continuous operation to be effective, the vertical garden system provides ongoing air filtration even when not in use. This makes it a more budget-friendly choice for improving air quality, offering better long-term financial value.