Florida Atlantic University 3D-Prints Seaweed Structures to Combat Harmful Algal Blooms

Florida Atlantic University researchers are 3D printing structures out of seaweed and lanthanum to strip phosphorus from Lake Okeechobee, the source of much of Florida's harmful algal bloom trouble. The project landed an $800,475 grant from the Gulf of America Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and runs for three years.

Lake Okeechobee has battled nutrient-fueled algal blooms for years. Excess phosphorus flows in from agricultural runoff, wastewater, failing septic systems, and urban stormwater. Once it reaches the lake, it feeds explosive algal growth that threatens drinking water, kills fish, and damages tourism. Because the lake sits at the headwaters of the Gulf of America watershed, cleanup downstream means cutting phosphorus at the source.

The FAU team, led by Masoud Jahandar Lashaki, is printing solid, retrievable structures that combine lanthanum with sargassum, a naturally abundant seaweed. Lanthanum captures phosphorus effectively, but standard treatments apply it as a fine powder that settles into lake sediments and slowly leaks back out. By embedding it in a solid, recoverable sargassum structure, the researchers minimize chemical runoff while turning algae into a resource rather than waste.

Artificial intelligence plays a role at two stages. First, it helps identify the most effective adsorbent formulations from a large design space. Second, after the structures are printed, AI analyzes land use, weather, fertilizer applications, livestock operations, and septic system data to figure out where placing them will have the greatest impact.

Testing will happen in Lake Okeechobee itself. Researchers will monitor water quality, clarity, and algal bloom frequency using field sampling, public environmental data, and drones. The dataset will go to the EPA's Water Quality Exchange so other communities can copy the approach. If the tech scales, the team wants it usable in lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds far beyond Florida.

This is a good example of 3D printing doing something quietly practical. No one is going to put a printed seaweed structure in a museum. But if it cuts phosphorus in one of America's most troubled lakes, that counts for a lot.