Forty-ninth GREENIN Webinar - Potted plants and indoor air pollutant removal and Active botanical biofilter systems

Dr Fraser Torpy is Director of the Plants and Environmental Quality Research Group at the University of Technology Sydney, where he leads one of the world's foremost research programs on plants and indoor air quality. His landmark publications, among the first in the world to quantify the removal of volatile organic compounds by indoor plants, have been top-cited and helped establish phytoremediation as a recognised field. Fraser's current work focuses on potted plant systems and on translating laboratory findings into real-world built-environment applications.

•    Dr Peter Irga is a leading researcher in innovative nature-based biological air treatment technologies, with a focus on countering the growing challenges of air pollution in urban environments. As Major Coordinator for Postgraduate Environmental Engineering and Water Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney's Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Dr Irga has made major contributions to the development of broad-scope air cleaning systems based on green walls, known as botanical biofilters, advancing them to the point of becoming an emergent technology with multiple projects worldwide. His contributions to the field have been recognised with the 2025 World Green Infrastructure Network Award for Academic Work.