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Shore-Mounted Vacuum Phase Separation for Coastal Eutrophication: Converting Algal-Bloom Biomass and Microplastics into Fresh Water, Dry Organic Component and Technical Salt
Summary
Scientists have designed a shore-based machine that sucks up polluted water from algae-choked lakes and beaches, then splits it into clean water, dried plant material, salt, and even tiny microplastic particles — instead of just temporarily clearing the water like current treatments do. This matters because it doesn't just make blooms disappear for a few weeks; it actually pulls out the phosphorus pollution and microplastics causing the problem, which could mean fewer beach closures, healthier water for swimming and recreation, and less microplastic contamination working its way into the food chain and our bodies.
Algal blooms and marine mucilage ("sea snot") are recurring symptoms of coastal and freshwater eutrophication: nutrient over-enrichment drives explosive growth of microalgae and cyanobacteria, followed by oxygen depletion, fish kills, beach closures and, increasingly, the co-accumulation of microplastics in the affected water column. Conventional municipal responses — coagulants, peroxides, copper compounds — clear the water only temporarily; settled biomass returns its phosphorus to the cycle within 3 to 6 weeks, and no established route exists for the wet biomass except landfilling, burial or uneconomic incineration. This paper describes ARBOK CleanSea, a shore-mounted vacuum phase-separation platform that treats bloom- and mucilage-laden water locally, without transporting wet feedstock. Contaminated water is drawn in by vacuum and separated in a single pass into four controlled outputs: reclaimed fresh water suitable for technical use and irrigation; a Dry Organic Component (DOC) at 10 to 15% moisture; technical salt crystallized from the brine; and, where present, a dry microplastic fraction captured to approximately 100 nm. The system is zero-discharge: 100% of intake is converted into useful outputs, with no brine and no wet mass sent to landfill. A single module processes 200 m3/day (73,000 m3/year); scaling is linear, and 14 modules reach 1,000,000 m3/year. Energy demand is 1 to 2 kWh/m3. The material-balance argument is quantified: a 1 km2 lake at 0.1 mg/L phosphorus holds roughly 500 kg of phosphorus, and removing 250 kg — about 25 t of dry biomass, equivalent to 250 t of wet mass at 90% moisture — measurably alters system behavior. A representative deployment at 1,000,000 m3/year yields combined customer payment of approximately $5.85 million/year against operating cost near $0.7 million/year, delivered under a Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) model that requires no municipal capital. The technology is at TRL 7. Expected outcomes over two to five seasons include a 20 to 40% reduction in total phosphorus, more than 50% fewer bloom days, and restored transparency of 1.5 to 2 m, provided that biomass removal is paired with source interception at stormwater and agricultural outfalls.