The KNeW Process: nothing in your brackish water is waste.
Every brackish stream between 5,000 and 50,000 mg/L TDS carries dissolved potassium (K), nitrogen (N) and recoverable water (W). The KNeW Process — the zero-waste core of Desalus — pulls all three back out. Desalus funds, builds, owns and operates it all; you simply buy back the clean water (your "W") at an attractive rate per thousand gallons, with zero brine left behind.
Your brackish water is loaded with nitrogen and potassium — and you're paying to throw it away.
Conventional desalination treats every dissolved salt as a contaminant to be concentrated and dumped. But the nitrate, ammonia and potash in inland water are the exact nutrients agriculture buys by the tonne. Reject them, and you pay twice: once to dispose of them, again when a farm imports the same molecules.
- Nutrients become liability — nitrate-laden brine triggers the strictest discharge permits and disposal scrutiny.
- Recovery collapses as TDS climbs toward 50,000 mg/L, so the most nutrient-dense water is the hardest to treat.
- Value walks out the gate — the potassium and nitrogen you concentrate are sold back to your region as fertilizer.
What conventional treatment discards
The richer your water gets, the more nutrient value conventional plants bury in brine. KNeW captures it instead.
It doesn't remove your salts. It harvests them.
The KNeW Process is engineered to separate inland brackish water into three clean outputs — potassium, nitrogen and water — so the stream you used to pay to discharge becomes affordable clean water with zero waste.
Nutrient recovery, by design
Nitrogen and potassium are separated and recovered as farm-grade fertilizer — not concentrated into a waste you have to bury.
The "W": 99%+ water
Almost every drop is recovered as clean water and returned to beneficial use — no reject stream, no evaporation pond.
Lower water cost, zero capital
No capital outlay and no operating burden. Desalus funds, builds and runs everything — you pay only for the clean water delivered, at an attractive rate per thousand gallons that beats your current all-in cost.
No nutrient discharge
Capturing nitrogen and potassium means no nitrate-laden brine — the discharge problem regulators scrutinize most simply disappears.
True zero-liquid-discharge
Water out, fertilizer out, nothing left over. The KNeW Process closes the loop with zero brine and zero waste.
Local food & water security
Locally recovered fertilizer and clean water strengthen regional agriculture and communities for generations.
The nutrient-dense band where recovery normally fails
From mildly brackish groundwater to near-saturation mine and process water, the KNeW Process is designed for 5,000–50,000 mg/L total dissolved solids — exactly where the most fertilizer value hides.
The highlighted band is the KNeW sweet spot — where inland nutrients are richest and conventional recovery stalls.
The KNeW Process vs. conventional removal
The same nutrient-rich influent, two very different fates for your nitrogen and potassium.
| Outcome | Desalus | Evaporation ponds | Conventional RO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water recovery | 99%+ | Low — lost to air | Stalls inland |
| Nitrogen & potassium | Recovered as fertilizer | Trapped in sludge | Concentrated to brine |
| Brine / reject stream | None | Permanent pond | Must be managed |
| Nutrient discharge risk | Eliminated | High | Rising |
| Capital you outlay | None — Desalus owns & operates | You fund & build | You fund & build |
| What you pay for | Clean water, per 1,000 gal | Disposal, forever | Power + disposal |
| Your all-in water cost | Lowest & predictable | Highest | High |
From water report to recovered K, N and W in four steps.
It starts with your numbers. Send Desalus a full-panel water quality and volume report, and you'll get a site-specific model of exactly how much water, nitrogen and potassium the KNeW Process can recover.
Start with your water reportShare your full-panel report
Send your water quality and volume data through the Desalus contact form. The richer the nutrient panel, the sharper the recovery model.
Get a K·N·W recovery model
Desalus quantifies recoverable water, nitrogen and potassium, your clean-water rate per thousand gallons, and the capital and disposal costs you avoid.
Desalus builds & operates the KNeW Process
Desalus capitalizes, installs and runs the zero-waste service around your site — no capex or operating burden for you — separating each stream into clean water and recovered N+K product.
Buy back clean water, waste-free
You purchase the clean water (your "W") at your agreed rate per thousand gallons. Brine never exists, and the recovered nitrogen and potassium become fertilizer Desalus markets — which is how your water price stays low.
Raise profit. Eliminate waste. Flourish community.
The KNeW Process turns the nutrients in your hardest water into the fertilizer your region needs — and the water back into affordable supply for you.
What "KNeW" actually means for your site
What does the name KNeW stand for?
It maps to what the process recovers: K (potassium), N (nitrogen) and W (water). Rather than concentrating these into brine, the KNeW Process separates inland brackish water into clean water and the nitrogen- and potassium-based salts that make farm-grade fertilizer. Your deliverable is the W — clean water; the recovered K and N become fertilizer that Desalus refines and sells.
How does the Desalus model work — what do I actually pay?
Desalus capitalizes, builds, owns, operates and maintains the KNeW Process facility. You don't buy equipment or run anything — you simply purchase the clean water it produces, at an attractive rate per thousand gallons. Because Desalus recovers and sells the resulting nitrogen and potassium fertilizer, we can price your water below conventional treat-and-dispose alternatives while leaving zero waste. The fertilizer revenue is Desalus'; your benefit is cheaper water and no liability.
Is this for seawater desalination?
No. The KNeW Process is purpose-built for inland brackish water in the 5,000–50,000 mg/L TDS range — mines, municipalities, power and industry with no ocean to discharge to. That's exactly where nutrient-rich water is stranded today.
What kind of fertilizer comes out?
Farm-grade nitrogen and potassium products recovered directly from your water's dissolved solids, which Desalus refines and sells. The exact blend depends on your water chemistry — which is why the full-panel report drives a site-specific recovery model before any commitment.
How do I find out what my water can recover?
Send Desalus a full-panel water quality and volume analysis through the contact form. You'll receive a site-specific model of recovered water, nitrogen and potassium, your clean-water rate per thousand gallons, and the capital and disposal costs you avoid.
See the water, nitrogen and potassium waiting in your stream.
Send Desalus a full-panel water quality and volume report and get a site-specific KNeW model of clean water recovery, your rate per thousand gallons, and the costs you avoid on the water you already manage.
No obligation. The report drives a site-specific model of K, N and W recovery, your clean-water rate per thousand gallons, and the costs you avoid.
- Quantified water recovery for your exact TDS and volumes
- Your attractive clean-water rate per thousand gallons
- Avoided brine, pond, nutrient-discharge and capital costs
- Zero capital outlay — Desalus funds, builds & operates it all