You’ve probably heard that having plants in your home is a good idea because they help purify the air. Well, the bioengineered Neo P1 is claimed to excel in that department, as it reportedly equals up to 30 regular houseplants in terms of air purification.
Created by Neoplants, a Paris-based biotech startup, NeoP1 is actually a genetically engineered type of pothos that’s great at removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air. It is a plant that is already known to
The Neo P1 is in particular Designed to trap large amounts of the four most toxic VOCs: formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and xylene. Genes added to its DNA produce enzymes that convert those compounds into harmless substances that plants use. Specifically, formaldehyde is converted to fructose, and benzene, toluene, and xylene are converted to amino acids.
That said, the Neo P1 does help a little.
It comes with its own special soil containing biochar, a charcoal-like substance produced by heating biomass in an oxygen-free environment. Best of all, Biochar provides a home for beneficial microbes that are added to the soil once a month in a supplement known as Power Drop.
These microbes receive life-sustaining nutrients from plants while enhancing air purification performance. It also provides unique VOC capture as air flows through the soil through slots in the included pot. Plant-to-soil air purification ratios vary with plant size, but are said to be about 50:50 when Neo P1 matures.
Neoplant
Other than adding power drops, the only maintenance required is watering. Thanks to the pot’s reservoir, this reportedly only needs to be done once a month in the winter and once every two weeks in the summer.
However, the Neo P1 should end up selling for a whopping US$179 a piece, so users will definitely want to keep that maintenance going. This price includes he 3 power drops. The cost of the “restock” drop has not yet been determined.
So why not buy an electric air purifier that doesn’t require sunlight, water or microbes?
“Although air purifiers are great at trapping particulate matter (for example, fire smoke), they are much more difficult to trap VOCs, which also pose serious health problems. is failing at this”. Not even, and it works 24/7.”
If you’re interested in getting your own Neo P1, you can join the waitlist on the company’s website.
Source: Neoplant
