1. Total Contacts: 96
Red Ox’s Electrochemical Desalination Cell
1. desalinates brine, a waste product from oil & gas and other industries
2. generates electricity quietly and
3. produces bulk inorganics that can be sold as commodities.
André Taylor (PI) David Kohn (EL) Tom Livingston (IM)
National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Program May 23, 2012

2. Problem:
Saline brine.
What is it?
Water that is saltier than sea water.
It is produced as a waste product of many industrial
processes.
2

3. Why is it a problem?
Saline brine is:
1. Environmentally harmful
2. Heavily regulated
3. Costly to treat and dispose of.

4. What we thought
1. Desalination 2. Oil and gas production
Photo 1: Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination plant Photo 2: a hydraulic fracturing site near
in El Paso Tx. Morgantown Pa.
4

5. What we did:
5

6. What we learned:
1. Desalination 2. Oil and gas production
Photo 1: Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination plant Photo 2: a hydraulic fracturing site near
in El Paso Tx. Morgantown Pa.

7. Key Partners Key Activities Value Customer Customer
-R & D Propositions Relationships Segments
-Manufacturers -Engineering -Turns waste cost -Service -Inland and coastal
-Utilities customization into revenue -Customization desalination plants
-Regulators -Decreased input -Link to value add -Industrial brine
-Learn regulatory
-Utility Commissions costs / volatility in industrial producers
landscape
-Quiet electricity ecosystem -Hydrofracking
-Foster relationships
-Inland and coastal on-site -Improve public operations
with stakeholders
desalination plants image
-Hiring & retention
-Industrial brine -Decreased liability -Chemical
producers Key Resources -Better public Channels distributors
-Hydrofracking image -Chemical End Users
-People
operations -Decreased -B2B marketing -Chemical Producers
-Intellectual
permitting time -Service
property
-Chemical agreements
-CO2 sequestration -Licensing
distributors -Brand -Utilities
-Energy efficiency arrangements
-Chemical Producers -Relationships with -Fuel Cell Mfgs
stakeholders and -DOESN’T CAUSE
partners EARTHQUAKES
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
-People -Manufacture / Capital -Royalties from licenses -Chemical sales
-R & D -Operation and -Service contracts -Electricity sales
–Prototyping maintenance -Engineering consulting -REC sales
-Legal fees (IP, Licensing, -Sales and Marketing fees -Brine treatment
Regulatory) -Strategic Partnerships contracts

8. Key Partners Key Activities Value Customer Customer
-R & D Propositions Relationships Segments
-Manufacturers -Engineering -Turns waste cost -Service -Water Treatment
-Membrane Mfgs customization into revenue -Customization for Hydrofracking
-Utilities -Decreased -Link to value add (Especially
-Know regulatory Produced Water)
-Regulators disposal costs in industrial
landscape -Inland and coastal
-Engineering firms -Decreased input ecosystem
-Foster relationships desalination plants
-Inland and coastal with stakeholders costs / volatility -Improve public
-Quiet electricity image -Industrial brine
desalination plants -Hiring & retention
on-site producers
-Industrial brine
producers Key Resources -Decreased liability Channels
- Electric Utilities (for
-Hydrofracking -People -Better public
-B2B marketing energy efficiency
operations -Intellectual image FOR
-Possibly investments)
-Chem. distributors property CLIENTS
-Decreased distributors/
-Chemical Producers -Chemical
permitting time ? conferences
-Brand distributors
-Service
-Relationships with -Chemical End Users
-Other frac water -DOESN’T CAUSE agreements
stakeholders and -Chemical Producers
treatment startups partners EARTHQUAKES -Licensing
arrangements
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
-People -Manufacture / Capital -Royalties from licenses -Chemical sales
-R & D & Prototyping -Operation and -Service contracts -Electricity sales
-Legal fees (IP, Licensing, maintenance -Strategic Partnerships -REC sales
Regulatory) -Sales and Marketing -Brine treatment
contracts

9. Traditional methods to dispose of saline brine include:
Deep well injection Evaporation Pits
Photo 4: a small deep well injection rig Photo 5 : a typical wastewater evaporation pit

10. Thought: Problem in the Marcellus
Texas:~50,000 Class II Disposal Wells (at least
80% for enhanced recovery)
Pennsylvania: 8 Class II Disposal Wells

11. Price for water treatment ~60x higher than we
thought!

13. Service
Well Owner Providers
(Fracking,
Onsite
recycling) Engineering
Firms
Regulators
(Water Rights,
Disposal, Primary
Permitting) Treatment
Facility
Technology
Developers /
Vendors Secondary
Treatment
Contractor
Disposal
Companies

14. Disposal
Produced Dilution with
Water Freshwater
Reuse to
Frac Another
Well
Primary
How high can
Treatment they go?
This is where we Tertiary
fit in Treatment
Current state of Discharge
the art are
evaporators and Must be
crystallizers drinking water
quality

15. Drilling Flowback Produced
Water Water Water
Water from drilling First 30 days of Produced over
muds used to drill production well’s operating
well life (4-30 years)
Medium TDS
High TSS Very high TDS
~5-20 % of injected (usually 100,000
Small quantity, ppm or higher)
weird stuff in it
~5-20 % of injected

16. Class II Wells Primary and
Tertiary
Treatment
Cost of 0.50-1.50 10.00-12.00 5.00-6.00
Disposal
($/bbl)
Transport 4.00-16.00 2.00-4.00 1.00-4.00
Cost ($/bbl)
Total 4.50-17.50 12.00-16.00 6.00-10.00
($/bbl)

17. “Moe! don’t throw out that brine!”

18. North American
Produced Water Market
TAM: $5 bn/yr
SAM: $3 bn
Target: $0.5 bn
Our projections:
~ $21 million/year revenues from one
10,000 barrel per day plant
<5% of current treatment and disposal in PA

19. Disposal
Produced Dilution with
Water Freshwater
Reuse to
Frac Another
Well
Primary
Treatment
Tertiary
= ~$1/bbl/hr Treatment
Discharge

20. Salt
Processing
Treatment
Storage
Drop-Off

21. Risks
1. Market risk: increasing reuse lowers disposal rate
2. Technology risk
3. Unable to sell into chemical markets
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22. Key Partners Key Activities Value Customer Customer
-R & D Propositions Relationships Segments
-Manufacturers -Engineering -Turns waste cost into -Water Treatment
-Integrators customization revenue -Make it easy for for Oil and Gas
-Membrane Mfgs -Decreased them to get rid of (Especially
-Know regulatory disposal costs and their waste Produced Water)
-Engineering firms
landscape volume -Brand = good PR -Service Providers
-Foster relationships -Decreased for Oil and Gas
-Hydrofracking
with stakeholders transport costs -Oil and Gas
operations
-Hiring & retention -Decreased input Owner/Operators
-Service providers
for oil and gas costs / volatility and
Key Resources Channels
industry freshwater volume
-Oil and Gas -People -Quiet electricity
Owner/Operators -Intellectual -B2B marketing -Chemical
property -Better public -Possibly distributors
-Other frac water image for clients distributors/ -Chemical End Users
treatment startups -Brand -Decreased conferences -Chemical Producers
-Relationships with permitting time -Oil &gas well
-Environmental stakeholders and service providers/
Groups/Regulators -Doesn’t Cause
partners Earthquakes manufacturers
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
-People -Manufacture / Capital -Royalties from licenses -Chemical sales
-R & D & Prototyping -Operation and -Service contracts -Electricity sales
-Legal fees (IP, Licensing, maintenance -Strategic Partnerships -REC sales
Regulatory) -Sales and Marketing -Brine treatment
contracts

23. Key Partners Key Activities Value Customer Customer
-R & D Propositions Relationships Segments
- Produced Water -Engineering -Service Providers
-Decreased
Treatment customization -Make it easy for for Oil and Gas
disposal costs and
companies them to get rid of Water Treatment
volume
-Know regulatory their waste for Oil and Gas
-Service providers -Decreased
landscape -Brand = good PR (Especially
for oil and gas transport costs
-Foster relationships Produced Water)
industry -Valuable
with stakeholders -Oil and Gas
-Oil and Gas Coproducts
-Hiring & retention Owner/Operators
Owner/Operators -Quiet electricity
RESEACH ARMS Key Resources Channels
-People
-Manufacturers -Intellectual -Better public -Chemical -Chemical
-Membrane Mfgs property image for clients Distributors distributors
-Engineering firms -Decreased -Oil &gas well -Chemical End Users
-Brand permitting time service providers -Chemical Producers
-Relationships with -Doesn’t Cause and water
-Environmental stakeholders and Earthquakes treatment
Groups/Regulators partners companies
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
-People -Manufacture / Capital -Royalties from licenses -Chemical sales
-R & D & Prototyping -Operation and -Service contracts -Electricity sales
-Legal fees (IP, Licensing, maintenance -Strategic Partnerships -REC sales
Regulatory) -Sales and Marketing -Brine treatment
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contracts