Overview
ARBOK Irrigation produces stable irrigation-grade (and potentially drinkable-grade) water by evaporating feedwater under deep vacuum, condensing vapor into clean water, and recovering non-volatile constituents as dry solids. Unlike RO, it uses no membranes and no core-process chemical dosing and generates 0% liquid brine tail. The technology targets 99.98% water recovery at 0.7 kWh/m³ (range 0.7–3 kWh/m³), addressing the RO “concentrate problem” (30–40% product water, 60–70% brine; 8–10 kWh/m³ in harsh loops). It is positioned for irrigation stability, soil protection, and product-driven economics via dry salts.
Applications
Primary use cases: irrigation supply in arid/high-evaporation regions; RO-park upgrade via brine processing (11–12%); agricultural expansion where soil salinization is the limiting factor. Users: ministries of water/agriculture, irrigation districts, large farms, desalination operators, industrial parks (reuse). Typical scales: distributed 50–200 m³/day; mid-hubs 4 800 m³/day; large hubs 100,000 m³/day+.
Operating Principle
Feedwater (seawater or RO brine) enters a deep-vacuum evaporation zone; vapor is produced and condensed into clean water. Non-volatile salts/metals stay in the solids loop and are recovered as dry products, eliminating a liquid brine stream. Energy is mainly electricity for vacuum/circulation/condensation; performance depends on feed salinity/solids load and heat integration, within 0.7–3 kWh/m³.
Key Parameters
Water recovery: 99.98%
Energy: 0.7 kWh/m³ (0.7–3 kWh/m³)
RO harsh loop reference: 30–40% product, 60–70% brine; 8–10 kWh/m³; membranes + chemicals + cleanings
RO brine salinity: 11–12%
Dry salt from RO brine: 110–120 kg per 1 m³ brine
Seawater salinity reference: 5.2% → 52 kg salts per 1 m³ seawater
Example scale: 100 000 m³/day → 36 500 000 m³/year water; at 5.2% → 1 898 000 t/year dry salts
Irrigation water quality metric (example): EC 0.064 dS/m; RO/ultra-low EC water without Ca/Mg compensation can reduce yield 10–30%, while cation-balanced regimes show +10–40% uplift; ARBOK concept is to keep ultra-low EC benefits while avoiding Ca/Mg deficit via balanced output composition (Ca/Mg/K/low Na).
|Parameter|RO (harsh loop)|ARBOK|
|—|–:|–:|
|Product water yield|30–40%|99.98%|
|Liquid concentrate|60–70%|0%|
|Energy|8–10 kWh/m³|0.7 kWh/m³ (0.7–3)|
|Consumables|membranes + chemicals|none in core|
Architecture and Components
Core: vacuum evaporator + vapor path + condenser. Solids: crystallization/collection, dewatering, packaging/storage for dry salts. Utilities: vacuum system, pumps, heat exchangers/thermal management, electrical drives. Controls: PLC/SCADA-ready automation; sensors for pressure, temperature, conductivity/TDS, flow, solids handling; safety interlocks for vacuum integrity. Modular expansion via parallel units and site-specific configuration (seawater intake, RO brine headers, mixed streams).
Advantages
Technical: 99.98% recovery; stable output; no membrane fouling cycles; 0% liquid brine tail; works on high salinity feeds including 11–12% RO brines.
Economic: electricity baseline 0.7 kWh/m³; removal of membrane/chemical OPEX; dry salt stream as commodity. Stated regional baseline (project narrative): salt revenue $80–90 billion/year; total annual effect $93–111 billion/year; fertilizer line $100–200 million/year; share vs hydrocarbon export 16–19 % against $600 billion/year.
Environmental/regulatory: no brine discharge; reduced marine impact; reduced land burden for evaporation ponds; lower soil salinization pressure from water supply variability.
Strategic: irrigation resilience, crop stability, fertilizer efficiency, food security; retrofit path for existing RO infrastructure (brine elimination).
Integrations
Integrates with seawater intakes, RO brine headers, storage tanks, irrigation distribution, reuse loops. Automation: PLC/SCADA, remote monitoring, KPI reporting, predictive maintenance. Logistics: dry product handling (storage/transport) as part of operating model.
Deployment & Operation
Steps: feed characterization (salinity, solids), site utilities/civil pad, tie-ins to intake and distribution, commissioning with staged loading. Operation: continuous or semi-batch by configuration; routine operator checks + dry solids logistics; remote supervision possible. Requirements: stable electrical supply; standard industrial safety for vacuum systems.
TRL
TRL 9 (confirmed by Michael)
Evidence basis: defined process architecture, modular scaling from 50–200 m³/day to 100,000 m³/day, stated operating metrics (99.98% recovery; 0.7–3 kWh/m³; 0% liquid brine tail). Remaining steps are project-specific: site pilot (if required), local certification/permitting, industrial validation under target feed conditions.
Market Potential
Addressable markets: arid/coastal irrigation water, desalination retrofit (brine elimination), national water-security programs. Strong fit where brine disposal limits expansion and where stable irrigation chemistry drives yields and soil longevity.
Typical Project Economics
Scale: 50–200 m³/day distributed; 4 800 m³/day modules; 100,000 m³/day hubs. OPEX driver: electricity at 0.7–3 kWh/m³; minimal consumables vs RO. Revenue lever: RO brine salts 110–120 kg/m³; assumed $100/t supports commodity cashflow; narrative regional totals: $80–90 billion/year salt revenue; $93–111 billion/year total effect; target payback 5–7 years (CAPEX finalized after engineering).
Risk Factors
Engineering: site feed variability; solids product specs and logistics; heat integration and uptime management at scale. Adoption: conservative procurement; regulatory/permits even with brine elimination; contract structure to monetize products. Market: commodity price volatility for salts; integration coordination with legacy RO operations and brine headers.
Related Technologies
Vacuum Osmosis · ARBOK-SODA · ARBOK-Underground-Water · ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking)