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Project No.: 0172.09.038.082 Page 1 of 2

Project Name: Shale Gas

CBI?

Yes

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TELEPHONE CALL RECORD

Incoming

Outgoing

Date: 9/26/11 Time: 5:00 am

pm

Company Name: Drake Water Technologies ERG Staff Name: Brent Ruminski

Contact Name: Ron Drake Contact Phone Number: 406-449-2440

General Subject: Drake Water Technologies: IonFlo (Ion Exchange)

TOPICS DISCUSSED AND ACTION TAKEN

I called Drake Water Technologies on 9/26/11 at 5 PM. I was redirected to Ron Drake, the inventor of IonFlo. 

Mr. Drake was available to discuss the IonFlo Technology in detail.

General: We first discussed that the unit was recently upgraded to a design of 300 gpm, corresponding to

10,000 bpd, (old system was 8,500 bpd design). The system is composed of 3 treatment modules. Each module

is a single 3-chambered fiberglass overflow tank. The 3-module system is fed by a single low pressure pump. In 

addition, each module is equipped with a small chemical metering pump to feed regenerate solutions. 

Auxiliaries include 1 holding tank for acid regenerate, 1 holding tank for base regenerate if necessary, and a 

vent blower for the system enclosure. The unit is skid mounted with an internal heater for the winter and is fully 

mobile.

Operation: See DWT’s website drakewater.com for a process flow diagram. The figure below shows the 

general flow diagram of the Ionflo. The resin is separated from the wastewater via settling and media filtration

in the resin separator tank, then the resin is regenerated.

Pretreatment: Only TSS removal is necessary. Only grit and large (>250 micron) particulate removal are 

required. Silt, clay and colloidal size particles pass through the process without adverse effect. No other 

pretreatment requirements were discussed. 

Effectiveness: Can handle up to 10,000 mg/L influent TDS. However, typical design for IonFlo for CBM 

treatment in the Powder River Basin was for 4,000 to 5,000 mg/L influent TDS. Effluent TDS is on the order of 

500 mg/L. Theoretically, there is no limit to influent TDS removal. Influent TDS is only limited to 10,000 mg/L 

because of economics. This is due to the increased need for regenerate acid, which increases the costs 

dramatically. 
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Waste Stream: With normal influent TDS concentrations (4,000 to 6,000 mg/L) the waste stream is about 1 to 

3 percent of influent flow. However, if influent TDS increases to 10,000 mg/L, the waste stream can be as high 

as 8 to 9 percent of influent flow. The final regenerate waste stream is 12 to 15% Na2SO4 by mass. 

Regenerate: Typically used sulfuric acid in the Powder River Basin. (For costs, see the O&M Costs)

Energy Usage: Energy required for 10,000 bpd design is about 6 kW when running at full capacity. In the 

winter, they must run the heater to keep the wastewater lines from freezing, which consumes an additional 6

kW. This would be approximately 144 kWh (6 kW x 24 hr) for 420,000 gallons of water in the summer and 288

kWh (12 kW X 24 hr) for 420,000 gallons of water in the winter. Mr. Drake later said the power consumption 

is less than 15 kW. The temperature only has a minimal effect on the kinetics of the ion exchange reactions. 

Capital Costs: Drake Technologies offers the 300 gpm/10,000 bpd unit with capital costs that just under 

$400,000. Drake Technologies also licenses units to larger companies that rent the technology out, but 

additional costs were not reported because the margin for the larger company is unknown. 

O&M Costs: Resin: $250/ft3 (about $8.8 per L). One tank setup (100 gpm) requires 200 L of resin, therefore 

the full size system holds 600 L of resin at one time. The full “inventory” of resin (the 600 L) must be replaced 

about once a year but Drake Technologies assume twice a year for any economic calculations for customers.

Regenerate: In the Powder River Basin, the regenerate acid costs were on the range of $95-$130 per ton but 

prices are extremely volatile. Regenerate acid represents 70 to 80 percent of the total O&M costs. One can 

calculate the O&M costs by starting with the influent NaCl concentration and determine the final mg/L. Then 

you can write the equilibrium reaction of the NaCl, resin, and regenerate. Balancing the equation would lead 

you to the stoichiometric regenerate requirement. However, in practice this number is multiplied by 0.8 to due 

to inefficiencies. 

Disadvantages: Mr. Drake said that the Higgins Loop damages resin frequently for mechanical reasons. IonFlo 

handles the resin more carefully but some degradation of the resin still occurs due to osmotic stress from 

frequent loading and regeneration cycles. The resin can increase or decrease in size by about 8 percent given 

typical temperature changes. This leads to mechanical stresses that gradually degrade the resin. Therefore, resin 

must be replaced at least once per year.

Powder River Basin CBM: In the Powder River Basin the high concentration of bicarbonate eliminates the 

need for anion exchange resins. The reason is explained by the equation below. After the sodium cations are 

removed, the hydrogen cations are free to react with bicarbonate anions. This reaction leads to the formation of 

carbon dioxide and water. 

Other notes:

Mr. Drake referred to a paper he wrote published by the Ultrapure journal. At the end of the call, Mr. Drake

gave me his email for any further questions. He also offered to take a look at anything we draft for corrections. 

The two email addresses are: Zeus1@bresnan.net , Ron@Drakewater.net.