The Skoog Flocculant
(Skoog Open Marine Proactive Flocculant – SOMPF)
Program Plastic to Self-Aggregate at the Moment of Fragmentation
A materials science system that transforms microplastic behavior in seawater. Surface-anchored block copolymers trigger immediate aggregation from microscopic fragments into macroscopic clusters — reducing bioavailability before dispersal.
Audio overview • 2 min
The Core Problem
Conventional microplastic cleanup targets dispersed particles in the open ocean — like finding needles in a haystack. The Skoog Flocculant attacks the problem at its source point: the moment a plastic item fragments into microplastics, when local particle concentration is highest.
How It Works
Industrial Application
Applied via spray tunnel with electrostatic charging immediately after molding. 3-10 seconds at 60-120°C creates a 1-10 µm functional surface zone.
Ionic Trigger
In seawater, amphiphilic block copolymers respond to ionic strength. Charge screening + polymer bridging overcome repulsion between fragments.
Source Point Aggregation
At fragmentation, functional material is exposed while fragments are at maximum local concentration. Surface wear exposes the concentrated functional surface zone, while deeper structural fractures expose the low-concentration functional reserve distributed through the core. Polymer bridging can therefore act before the fragments disperse.
Biofilm Synergy
Modified surface accelerates biofilm colonization. Bacterial EPS acts as biological ”glue” that stabilizes aggregates into marine snow.
Why This Changes Everything
Proactive, not reactive: Doesn’t chase dispersed microplastics. Programs the plastic itself to neutralize its own environmental impact at the moment of breakdown.
Bio-physical barrier: Aggregation into sizes >50 µm sharply reduces endocytosis. Particles become too large to penetrate cell membranes in marine organisms.
Hydrodynamic redistribution: Dense aggregates sediment faster. Light aggregates form floating macro-clusters. Both simplify mechanical separation and reduce residence time in the biologically active zone.
Additive to existing plastics: Doesn’t affect mechanical properties during primary use. Long-term integrated and resistant to abrasion.
Key Technical Features
DLVO + Polymer Bridging
Dual mechanism: charge screening reduces repulsion while polymer chains physically entangle particles into stable aggregates.
Brackish Water Optimized
Functions in Baltic Sea conditions (0.1-0.15 M). Optimized charge density maintains high responsiveness even at lower salinities.
Surface Zone Engineering
1-10 µm functional zone diffused into plastic surface. Resistant to mechanical wear throughout product lifecycle.
EPS Reinforcement
Accelerates biofilm formation. Bacteria produce extracellular polymeric substances that permanently bind fragments into stable marine snow.
Proven Principles
- DLVO physics: Well-established colloidal science used in water treatment for 50+ years to aggregate suspended particles
- Polymer bridging: Same mechanism deployed in mining and wastewater treatment to create stable, separable flocs
- Biofilm synergy: Marine bacteria naturally produce EPS that binds particles into marine snow — The Skoog Flocculant accelerates this process
- Source point advantage: Targets fragmentation when particle concentration is highest, maximizing collision probability
Limitations & Prerequisites
Requires turbulence: Aggregation needs kinetic energy to create particle collisions. Best effect in flowing water or at wave zones, not in still conditions.
Source-point focus: Designed to reduce dispersal at the moment of fragmentation. Not intended to collect microplastics already dispersed in the open ocean.
Hybrid Protection — Surface Treatment and Core Protection
A complementary architecture for deep damage and fracture. The spray and the masterbatch solve two different parts of the same problem.
SOMPF can be extended beyond the treated surface by combining the spray-applied functional layer with a low-concentration masterbatch incorporated into the plastic itself.
The two components serve different purposes. The spray treatment creates a highly concentrated functional zone at the surface, where everyday wear, weathering and micro-abrasion occur. This places most of the active material exactly where it is normally needed, without distributing the same concentration throughout the entire product.
At the same time, a much lower concentration of the functional material can be dispersed through the polymer during manufacturing using a masterbatch. This creates a secondary protective function inside the plastic. During normal use, the core remains enclosed and the surface treatment provides the primary protection. If the product is later cracked, broken or deeply damaged, however, a new fracture surface is created. Because the functional material is distributed throughout the core, it is also exposed along this previously untreated surface.
For continuous wear
Highly concentrated functional zone where micro-abrasion occurs
For structural fracture
Low-concentration reserve that activates when deep damage exposes new surface
This creates a two-layer protection architecture:
Surface protection for continuous wear — core protection for structural fracture.
The approach preserves the main economic advantage of SOMPF. A high concentration is required only in the very thin outer functional zone, while the much larger internal volume contains only a small amount of functional material. The masterbatch can be introduced together with the base polymer during conventional plastic processing, making the protection part of the material itself rather than requiring a separate internal structure.
The result is a plastic product designed to retain its microplastic-control function not only during gradual surface degradation, but also when larger pieces break and previously internal material becomes exposed to the marine environment.
100% Open Source
The Skoog Flocculant is delivered as an open technical solution under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0. No patents. No license fees. The system is designed for global implementation and optimization by any manufacturer, government, or research institution.
Transform Plastic at the Molecular Level
Source point protection | No patents | Globally implementable
Get full documentation and technical report (DOI)