ABOVE: Photos of a lake Gaalswyk used his new Easy NanoVoid Technology on to clean algae. Photos courtesy of Mark Gaalswyk.

FAIRMONT–A new prototype has been developed to nearly instantly clean up lakes and other bodies of water. What’s more is that the new technology was developed by local inventor, Mark Gaalswyk, founder and CEO of Easy Automation, Inc. in Welcome.

Gaalswyk founded Easy Automation, which provides ag software and automation to coops and feed mills in 1986. Then in 2006 he founded Easy Energy Systems where technology related to biofuels is developed. Most recently in 2023, he founded Easy Modular Manufacturing, which is where Easy NanoVoid Technology– a system that uses minuscule bubbles to clean water without chemicals or filters– was developed.

“I love to invent and create,” Gaalswyk said. “I crave to solve problems.”

He spoke of the problems with algae in local lakes as well as the demand for clean water worldwide.

Nano bubbles is soemthing Gaalswyk first heard of in 2012 and he was initially interested in the physics of it, which his background is in. He asked questions and looked into it but put it on the back burner for a few years until he revisited it in earnest again around 2020.

Ever since his sons, Chris and Brady, and General manager, Jayden Grupe, have taken on more management of the day to day operations at Easy Automation, Mark’s had more time to develop this new technology.

Speaking about nano bubbles, Gaalswyk said, “there’s physics principle that the smaller and smaller you make a bubble, the surface tension gets reduced. If you make it small enough, the surface goes away and it makes a void.”

While looking more into nano bubbles with a desire to provide clean water, Gaalswyk discovered how to fit 28,000 bubbles in the pin of a needle.

“If you make bubbles tiny enough, they’ll stay around longer,” Gaalswyk said.

He explained that normal aerators in a lake make bigger bubbles which dissipate quickly, but that smaller bubbles can stay in a lake for a month doing well. The bubbles are so small they can only be seen with a laser beam.

“It’s the bubble interacting with the algae and bacteria that eats up the algae that does the good,” Gaalswyk said.

The technology that Gaalswyk developed has been tested by the University of Minnesota, which looked at how many of his bubbles can be put in a gallon of water and it was found that 1.67 trillion bubbles can be put in a gallon of water.

The oxygen bubbles specifically target algae.

“Algae can form from fertilizer runoff and then you get different forms of bacteria, aerobic bacteria (thrives in an oxygenated environment) will eat up the algae and the other form of bacteria stinks. We want to get the good guys really going. Oxygen bubbles to the good guys are like an energy drink,” Gaalswyk explained.

He first tested his prototype on a local pond that was green with algae. He ran the unit for four days and it cleaned up the pond some, but not as much as he expected. However when he returned later, the water was clear.

“The bubbles had stayed in for a month and it cleaned the whole pond up. I didn’t even have the unit there,” Gaalswyk said.

The unit has a hose that can suck out water from a lake, pond, stream or pool, put the bubbles into it, and put the water back in. The bubbles then spread out and gradually clean the water.

“There’s no chemicals, no membranes, no filters,” Gaalswyk said.

Since first testing the pond, Gaalswyk has tested it on a local lake which cleared out a portion of it in a few days. He also tested it on some ponds on a golf course in Arizona that was dealing with major algae and smell problems. In addition, Gaalswk has tested it out in a swimming pool, which also resulted in clear water.

One thing he’s gotten questions about is how the bubbles affect fish; however, he said a study showed that the death loss in fish was eliminated by 90 percent.

“Fish love oxygen up to a certain level… we’re teeing up to do some work with fisheries because a reason a lot of fish farms go bankrupt is because they don’t have enough oxygen in their water,” he said.

The amount of time the unit should run depends on the condition of the water. There are now four different sizes of units that have been created which can be used for different needs and come at different price points.

The smallest unit, which is being demonstrated this week at the Minneapolis Boat Show, can treat 16,000 gallons of water in an hour while using three gallons of water. He thinks it’s ideal for a lake property owner or even a few neighbors to use together. The larger unit can treat whole lakes, golf courses or swimming pools.

Gaalswyk said the units can be ran as needed and the software can be monitored remotely by his company just as it already does for the feed mill technology. Running the unit is similar to running an air compressor.

In addition to clearing water, Gaalswyk has tested the technology using nitrogen bubbles to clear oil and says it could be a game changer for cleaning oil spills.

Gaalswyk has heard of expressed interest for this new technology from other states and even other countries.

“Africa wants to clean their water,” he said.

Manufacturing of the products are starting with Easy Automation producing automation control panels at its site in Welcome and other assembly taking place in southern Minnesota.

He just wants people in the area to know that there are local businesses that are thriving and that are working on solutions to problems– both locally and globally.

“I want our community to feel proud that technology transforming lakes around the world was developed and distributed worldwide right here in small town southern Minnesota,” Gaalswyk said.

More information, and photos, can be found about NanoVoid online at easyenergysystems.com. To further commercialize the technology, Gaalswyk recently acquired publicly traded Digital Utilities Ventures, Inc. (DUTV) and will relocate the company to Minnesota and merge Easy Modular Manufacturing under its umbrella.