Overview
A submarine on patrol is a sealed capsule: artificial air, artificial light, and water produced on board. All three existing routes to that water are compromises. Thermal distillation on nuclear boats uses reactor waste heat to boil seawater and yields a mineral-free distillate with documented long-term health effects — bone decalcification and metabolic imbalance — and, in a reactor incident, carries radionuclides such as cesium, strontium, iodine and cobalt straight into the drinking loop. Reverse osmosis on diesel boats recovers only about 50% of intake, discharges the rest as brine, depends on membranes and chemicals that cannot be resupplied at 300 metres, and generates a pump-and-vibration acoustic signature that defeats the purpose of a submarine. Storage tanks stagnate within days and require chemical stabilisation.
ARBOK's Thermodynamic Cold Evaporation replaces all three. It operates by low-temperature phase separation, converts 100% of seawater intake into potable water, consumes roughly 10 times less energy than RO, emits about 40 dB, reaches operating output within 20 minutes of activation, and uses no membranes, no reagents and no consumables of any kind. The product water contains no ammonium, no boron and no dissolved oxygen — therefore no substrate for bacterial growth — no organics, viruses, fungi or microorganisms, and is free of heavy water (D₂O), which is present at elevated concentration in deep ocean layers and has negative physiological effects. It stores in tanks for years without degradation. Water with these properties is sold in Europe as bottled "living water" at up to €15/L; on a TCE-equipped boat this is simply the tap water.
For nuclear submarines the decisive feature is automatic radionuclide removal: in the event of a reactor leak the system separates Cs, Sr, Co and I without operator intervention, converting a desalination plant into a life-support safeguard.
Applications
Potable, cooking and medical water supply on conventional (diesel-electric) and nuclear submarines. Replacement of reactor-heat distillation on nuclear boats, including revitalisation of otherwise dead reactor distillate. Replacement of RO desalination units on diesel boats. Replacement of chemically stabilised tank reserves as the primary supply, with tanks reduced to genuine emergency reserve. Radiation-incident life support. Wound rinsing and onboard medical use, given the sterility of the product water.
Operating Principle
TCE operates on low-temperature phase separation. Seawater is separated into a clean vapour phase and a solid residue without high-pressure membranes, without boiling and without chemical dosing. The vapour condenses as potable water; dissolved salts leave the process as dry crystals, which can be discharged overboard without environmental harm or purified further into food-grade sea salt. There is no liquid brine stream and no discharge of concentrate.
The system can be shut down and restarted at will — a practical difference from RO, whose membranes are damaged by standing in salt when the unit is stopped. Restart to delivered water takes 20 minutes.
Radionuclide separation is an inherent consequence of the phase-separation architecture, not an added stage: isotopes that are non-volatile under the process conditions remain in the solid residue. The process runs automatically, without operator intervention, during a contamination event.
Limitations recorded in the source: the technology has not yet been demonstrated in a submarine hull. Specific power draw, module dimensions and mass, water output per module, feed-temperature dependence, the disposition and radiological handling of the solid residue after a reactor incident, and the qualification path against naval shock, vibration and inclination standards are not documented. [требует уточнения из базы]
Key Parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|—|—|
| Process | Thermodynamic Cold Evaporation — low-temperature phase separation |
| Recovery rate | 100% of seawater intake converted to potable water |
| Energy demand | ~10× lower than reverse osmosis |
| Acoustic emission | ~40 dB (quieter than a domestic refrigerator) |
| Start-up time to delivered water | 20 minutes |
| Consumables | None — no membranes, no chemicals, no filters, no reagents |
| Liquid waste / brine | None |
| Solid output | Dry salt crystals — dischargeable overboard, or refinable to table salt |
| Ammonium, boron, dissolved oxygen in product | None |
| Organics, viruses, bacteria, fungi in product | None |
| Heavy water (D₂O) in product | Removed |
| Product shelf life in tank | Years, without degradation |
| Radionuclide removal | Automatic — Cs, Sr, Co, I |
| Onboard quality control | Integrated real-time inline laboratory with auto-shutdown |
| Form factor | Scalable modular design adapted to submarine compartments |
| Reference market value of comparable water | up to €15/L (European bottled "living water") |
| Specific kWh/m³, module mass and dimensions, output per module | [требует уточнения из базы] |
Demand basis from the source: average consumption 120–150 litres per person per day; a crew of 80 therefore requires 10–12 tonnes per day, and a three-month patrol about 1,000 tonnes — a volume that cannot be stored, which is why the desalination system is described in the source as the heart of the boat.
Architecture and Components
Low-temperature phase-separation stage; vapour condensation and potable-water delivery line; dry-salt residue collection and discharge; integrated inline water-quality laboratory with continuous monitoring, instant output to the control panel and automatic shutdown on anomaly. Scalable modular construction dimensioned for submarine compartments. No membrane modules, no high-pressure pump train, no reagent dosing, no kilometres of piping. The source characterises the mechanical philosophy as deliberately minimal — switch on, it works; switch off, it is silent.
Detailed component list, module envelope and interface specification: [требует уточнения из базы]
Advantages
Comparison recorded in the source:
| Parameter | Distillation | RO | TCE (Arbok) |
|—|—|—|—|
| Recovery rate | ~100% | ~50% | 100% |
| Energy demand | High (thermal) | High (electrical) | ~10× lower than RO |
| Consumables | None | High (membranes, chemicals) | None |
| Acoustic noise | Low | High (pumps) | Very low (40 dB) |
| Water quality | Dead distillate | Partially remineralized | Stable, sterile, mineral-safe |
| Radiation resilience | No | No | Yes |
| Reliability | Moderate | Low (membrane failure) | High |
Stealth. RO pumps and their vibration are audible to an adversary. At about 40 dB the TCE unit removes that acoustic contribution.
Autonomy. Energy consumption roughly one tenth of RO extends the period a boat can remain submerged and independent. No membrane or chemical resupply chain means no consumable that can run out mid-patrol.
Crew health. Distillate is mineral-free and, drunk for years, produces bone decalcification and metabolic disruption. TCE water is stable, sterile and mineral-safe, and can be used for cooking and for rinsing wounds without infection risk.
Survivability. Automatic radionuclide removal turns the water plant into a life-support safeguard under reactor-accident conditions rather than a route by which contamination reaches the crew.
Environmental. No brine discharge. The salt leaves as dry crystals which are harmless overboard or saleable after purification.
Integrations
ARBOK PURI · ARBOK-Light-Water · ARBOK-DEUTERIUM · ARBOK-STERIVAC · ARBOK MedZWD · ARBOK-Arctic
The integrated inline laboratory replaces manual pipette-and-reagent testing, whose delay means contaminated water is consumed before the result arrives.
Deployment & Operation
Installed as the boat's primary water plant, sized modularly to the available compartment volume. Operation is on-demand: the unit produces water when water is needed and can be stopped without penalty, unlike RO. Restart to delivered water takes 20 minutes. No membrane replacement schedule, no chemical inventory, no filter stock. Water quality is monitored continuously by the built-in laboratory, which halts the system automatically on anomaly.
Commissioning sequence, crew training requirement, hull integration and naval qualification: [требует уточнения из базы]
TRL
Numerical TRL is not stated in the source. The material describes the technology as ready to prove itself at depth, i.e. not yet demonstrated in a submarine. TRL 8 — проставлен Михаилом 2026-08-06.
Market Potential
The addressable need is defined in the source by consumption rather than by market size: 120–150 litres per person per day, 10–12 tonnes per day for a crew of 80, about 1,000 tonnes over a three-month patrol — volumes that cannot be carried, making onboard production mandatory on every submarine in service. Both fleets are addressable: nuclear boats currently on reactor-heat distillation and diesel-electric boats currently on RO.
Quantified fleet size, procurement volumes and pricing: [требует уточнения из базы]
Typical Project Economics
No project cost model, CAPEX or OPEX figure is given in the source. The only monetary reference is the retail value of comparable water: up to €15/L in European stores for bottled "living water" of similar properties.
Risk Factors
The technology has not been demonstrated in a submarine hull; the source states only that it is ready to be proven at depth. Specific energy consumption is given solely as a ratio to RO, with no absolute kWh/m³ figure, so power-budget integration cannot be closed from the base. Module mass, dimensions and output per module are undocumented, leaving compartment integration open. The disposition of the dry salt residue after a radionuclide event — handling, shielding, storage aboard — is not addressed; the residue concentrates precisely the isotopes removed from the water. Naval qualification against shock, vibration, inclination and EMC standards is not documented. Acceptance also depends on a fleet's willingness to replace a life-critical system that, however poor, is qualified and familiar.
Related Technologies
ARBOK PURI · ARBOK-Light-Water · ARBOK-DEUTERIUM · ARBOK-Underground-Water · ARBOK-STERIVAC · ARBOK LIGHT-SALT · ARBOK CleanSea