ARBOK-AlgalBloom (Algal Bloom Control by Nutrient Removal)

Overview

A bloom requires 4 conditions: excess nutrients, heat, light and still water. In a shallow, sun-exposed, motionless water body 3 of the 4 cannot be changed. Only one is controllable — the nutrients. Phosphorus and nitrogen are the fuel; without fuel there is no bloom. Every method in current municipal use — algaecides, coagulants, peroxides, copper compounds, aeration, nanobubbles, sand filtration — attacks the algae that already grew and removes none of the dissolved phosphorus or nitrogen that produced them. The water clears temporarily, biomass settles, and within 3–6 weeks the phosphorus returns to the cycle. Sand filters catch coarse particles and pass dissolved nutrients straight through. The growth medium survives every treatment, so the bloom returns.

ARBOK reverses the target: it does not fight the algae, it withdraws their food. Equipment stands on the shore and works locally on water with high biomass concentration. Water is drawn in by vacuum and evaporated at ambient temperature; the cold vapour carries away nitrogenous compounds and dissolved gases — the substrate and medium of any microflora. No membranes, no chlorine, no reagents, no coagulants. The outputs are purified fresh water fit for technical use and irrigation, DOC (Dry Organic Component) at 10–15% moisture, and, where present, a dry microplastic fraction. Everything leaves in a controlled dry form: no brines, no burial of wet mass, no secondary contamination.

The argument is a material balance. A lake of 1 km² at 5 m average depth holds about 5,000,000 m³. At 0.1 mg/L phosphorus that is roughly 500 kg of phosphorus in the system. Removing 250 kg changes system behaviour. At about 1% phosphorus in dry algal biomass, 250 kg corresponds to 25 tonnes of dry matter, which at 90% moisture is 250 tonnes of wet mass — and the whole question is what happens to that 250 tonnes. Landfilling produces odour and leachate; burial moves the problem into the soil; incineration of wet mass is uneconomic; composting is limited by possible heavy metals. ARBOK converts it into dry, odourless product instead.

Applications

Municipal park lakes, urban reservoirs, calm river backwaters and coastal zones in Europe and North America. Decorative and memorial water bodies — the source works the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial as a fully sized case. Recreation and bathing waters facing seasonal closure. Mediterranean and southern European freshwater bodies where episodes intensify during heat waves and fertiliser runoff. Stormwater outfalls and agricultural discharges, via Arbok-Purification units placed upstream for source interception. Modularity spans small park ponds through to major rivers and coastal waters.

Operating Principle

The bloom mechanism as stated in the source. Rapid growth of microalgae or cyanobacteria begins when phosphorus exceeds 0.1 mg/L and nitrogen exceeds 1 mg/L with water temperature in the 24–28 °C band and weak circulation. Cell density reaches 10⁶–10⁸ per ml, chlorophyll-a exceeds 100 µg/L, transparency drops below 0.5–1 m. Oxygen may hold during the day and fall to 2–3 mg/L at night. Fish die, benthic organisms suffer, toxins may appear. Drivers are agricultural runoff, municipal discharge, heat and stagnation.

The process. Shore-mounted equipment operates locally, with no transport of "raw material": water is drawn in by vacuum and fed directly into the unit. Inside, the water stream is separated from the organic matter. The water is evaporated under vacuum at ambient temperature rather than dosed with chemicals; nitrogenous compounds and dissolved gases leave with the cold vapour, stripping out the substrate and the medium for microflora. Output water meets WHO standard — the source states fish live in it — with zero chlorine, zero reagents, zero nutrients and zero discharge. The organic residue leaves as DOC at 10–15% moisture, dry and odourless. Where microplastic is present it is separated as a dry fraction and handled by standard methods.

The system runs continuously, 24/7. "Turnover" is defined as the time for one pool volume to pass through the unit, not an "every N days" batch mode. Nutrients are held below the bloom threshold rather than knocked down after the fact.

Limitations stated in the source. Biomass removal does not cancel the need to work on the sources. If annual phosphorus inflow stays at 100–150 kg, concentration rises again within a few seasons; runoff interception must run in parallel. Environmental recovery is not instantaneous: total phosphorus falls 20–40% over 2 seasons, bloom days drop by more than 50%, and transparency returns to 1.5–2 m over 4–5 years. Composting of the biomass is precluded where heavy metals may be present, which is also relevant to the fertiliser route for DOC.

Key Parameters

| Parameter | Value |

|---|---|

| Process | Vacuum phase separation at ambient temperature, shore-mounted closed loop |

| Module capacity | 200 m³/day = 73,000 m³/year |

| Scaling | Linear — each additional module adds 200 m³/day |

| Modules for 1,000,000 m³/year | 14 |

| Energy — Lincoln Memorial sizing | 0.7 kWh/m³ |

| Energy — processing cost basis | 1–2 kWh/m³ |

| Output water | WHO standard; fit for technical use and irrigation; fish live in it |

| DOC (Dry Organic Component) moisture | 10–15% |

| Microplastic fraction | Separated dry, where present |

| Liquid waste / brine | None |

| Consumables | None — no membranes, no chlorine, no reagents, no coagulants |

| Recirculation | 100%; only evaporation makeup |

| Bloom trigger thresholds (feed context) | P > 0.1 mg/L, N > 1 mg/L, 24–28 °C |

| Total phosphorus reduction | 20–40% within 2 seasons |

| Bloom days | reduced by more than 50% |

| Transparency restored | 1.5–2 m within 4–5 years |

| Water body area maintained per module | [требует уточнения из базы] — the source leaves this value blank |

> Расхождение в источнике: энергопотребление указано двумя разными значениями. В расчёте по бассейну Мемориала Линкольна — 0.7 kWh/m³ (800 × 0.7 = 560 kWh/day). В разделе себестоимости обзорной статьи — 1–2 kWh/m³ в составе $0.62–0.74/m³. Обе цифры приведены как есть; какая относится к какому классу водоёма и нагрузки, в источнике не разъяснено.

Architecture and Components

Shore-mounted module; vacuum intake drawing water directly from the water body without raw-material transport; vacuum evaporation stage at ambient temperature; separation of the water stream from organic matter; condensate return of purified water; DOC discharge at 10–15% moisture; dry microplastic fraction separation where present. Reference module rating 200 m³/day, deployed in multiples.

Monitoring. An ARBOK electronic quality laboratory runs 24/7 with GSM management, covering nitrogenous compounds, pH and bacteriology with instant alerting — described in the source as a "Check Engine" light that fires before the water turns green rather than after.

Detailed component breakdown and module envelope: [требует уточнения из базы]

Advantages

It targets the cause, not the symptom. Algaecides, peroxides, copper compounds, coagulants, aeration and nanobubbles kill grown algae and leave the phosphorus and nitrogen in the water; the settled biomass returns its phosphorus to the cycle within 3–6 weeks. Sand filters pass dissolved nutrients entirely. Nutrient extraction is the only mechanism that ends the cycle.

No secondary waste. No brines, no wet mass to bury, no new landfill, no secondary contamination. The wet-biomass disposal problem — 250 tonnes of wet mass per 250 kg of phosphorus removed — is converted into dry, odourless product on site.

Products rather than disposal cost. DOC serves as organo-mineral fertiliser or, after pressing, as fuel briquette. Compared with coal it is lighter, virtually odourless and produces significantly less smoke; at scale it can feed power plants, at smaller scale solid-fuel boilers and fireplaces.

Water stays in circulation. 100% recirculation with only evaporation makeup; in the Lincoln Memorial case no top-up from the Tidal Basin is required. Output water is usable for technical purposes and irrigation.

Ecologically selective. The source's position is that algae are not the enemy — they anchor food chains and produce oxygen — and that the broken nutrient balance is the target. Algaecides harm everything alive in the water; nutrient extraction does not.

Continuous assurance. The 24/7 e-lab replaces periodic sampling with instant alerting before a bloom develops.

Integrations

ARBOPOOL · ARBOK PURI · ARBOK-SARGASSUM · ARBOK-CHEMILAKE-PURI · ARBOK Anti-Mucilage · ARBOK Digital Twin

The source pairs consequence management with source control: Arbok-Purification units at stormwater outlets and agricultural discharges remove heavy-metal salts and fertiliser residues before they reach the water body. The combination is what produces lasting stability; either alone does not.

Deployment & Operation

Equipment is installed at the shoreline and operates locally — no transport of biomass or water off site. Practical implementation begins with a single 200 m³/day module, which also carries the certification and administrative procedures; scaling to required capacity follows within about 1 year. Pilot deployment is quoted at 8 weeks. Operation is continuous, 24/7, with GSM-managed remote quality monitoring and automatic alerting.

Commercially the offering is structured under a BOOM model, so municipalities require no significant upfront capital.

Reference sizing — Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial. Pool volume ~15,000 m³, dimensions 619 × 51 m, depth about half a metre, sun-exposed and motionless. Load for a decorative pond is low, so 4 × ARBOPOOL-200 = 800 m³/day is sufficient. Full turnover every ~19 days holds nutrients below the bloom threshold. Energy: 800 × 0.7 kWh/m³ = 560 kWh/day, 204 MWh/year, average power ~23 kW. Operating cost 800 × $0.084/m³ ≈ $67/day ≈ $24,500/year, excluding labour and depreciation. 100% recirculation, no Tidal Basin top-up. Output is WHO-standard water with zero chlorine, zero reagents, zero nutrients and zero discharge; the concentrate is dry odourless organics used as tree fertiliser. Context: the pool turned green again 2 weeks after a $14 million restoration.

TRL

Numerical TRL is not stated in the source. TRL 8 — проставлен Михаилом 2026-08-06.

Market Potential

The recurring seasonal cycle in European and North American municipalities: green haze, cloudy water, odour, surface film, laboratory reports within a week, bathing prohibition within two. Authorities have grown accustomed to the cycle and often assume no effective tool exists.

Current municipal spend. Seasonal chemical measures for a water body of about 1 km² reach $200,000–500,000 per year. Closure of a beach or recreation zone for 20–30 days against daily revenue of $50,000–100,000 produces direct losses of $1–3 million per season. The money is spent and the nutrients remain.

Product values. DOC as organo-mineral fertiliser around $150 per tonne. As pressed fuel briquette, calorific value 14–20 kJ as stated in the source, described as comparable to certain coals, with 2026 pricing referenced to wood pellets — the specific per-tonne figure is left blank in the source. [требует уточнения из базы]

Global or regional market sizing is not given in the source. [требует уточнения из базы]

Typical Project Economics

Reference case: 1,000,000 m³/year (14 modules)

| Item | Value |

|---|---|

| Treatment tariff, negotiated with local authorities | ~$5 per m³ |

| Total customer payment for treatment | $5.85–6.0 million per year |

| Processing cost | $0.62–0.74 per m³, including energy 1–2 kWh/m³ and operating expenses |

| Annual operating cost | ~$0.7 million |

| Revenue per season | — the source leaves this value blank |

| Financing model | BOOM — no significant municipal capital required |

Reference case: decorative pond, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (15,000 m³)

| Item | Value |

|---|---|

| Installed capacity | 4 × ARBOPOOL-200 = 800 m³/day |

| Full turnover | ~19 days |

| Energy | 560 kWh/day; 204 MWh/year; ~23 kW average |

| Operating cost | $0.084/m³ ≈ $67/day ≈ $24,500/year, excluding labour and depreciation |

Baseline being displaced: $200,000–500,000 per year in seasonal chemistry for a 1 km² water body, plus $1–3 million per season in lost recreation revenue where closure occurs.

Risk Factors

Nutrient inflow is the binding constraint: with an annual phosphorus load of 100–150 kg continuing, concentrations rebuild within a few seasons regardless of how much biomass is extracted, so the project depends on parallel interception of stormwater and agricultural discharges — which involves parties and permits outside the water body operator's control. Results are slow on a political timescale: 20–40% total phosphorus reduction takes 2 seasons and transparency recovery 4–5 years, against a municipal budget cycle accustomed to visible seasonal clearing.

Heavy metals in the biomass, which the source cites as the reason composting is limited, bear directly on the fertiliser route for DOC and are not quantified. The energy figure is inconsistent between the two source documents (0.7 kWh/m³ against 1–2 kWh/m³), which propagates into cost. Several economic values are left blank in the source itself — area maintained per module, the 2026 briquette price per tonne, and seasonal revenue — and the briquette calorific value is stated as "14–20 kJ" without a mass basis. CAPEX, module cost and payback are undocumented. The treatment tariff of about $5 per m³ is described as negotiated with local authorities, so it is not a fixed market price. Certification and administrative procedures are on the critical path, which is why the source starts deployment with a single module.

Related Technologies

ARBOPOOL · ARBOK PURI · ARBOK-SARGASSUM · ARBOK Anti-Mucilage · ARBOK-CHEMILAKE-PURI · ARBOK-POOL RENEWAL · ARBOK CleanSea