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Director: Separations Division, American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Advisory Board: AIChE Water Initiative
Guest Editor: Special Issue of Desalination on Forward Osmosis
Board of Directors: North American Membrane Society
Faculty advisor: Engineers without Borders, USA-UCONN
Faculty advisor: AIChE UConn Student Chapter
Faculty Ambassador: Universitas 21, UCONN
Member: North American Membrane Society
Member: American Institute of Chemical Engineering
Member: American Chemical Society
Member: Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors
Member: American Water Works Association

Dr. McCutcheon currently directs the Sustainable Water and Energy Learning Laboratory (SWELL) at UConn. This lab houses multiple research projects which involve emerging technologies for water treatment and water-based energy technologies.

Mission Statement: Our research goal is to enable technologies that leverage low grade energy sources for sustainable water and energy production.  We will achieve this through innovative materials and process design

Our active research projects include:

NOVEL MEMBRANES FOR FORWARD OSMOSIS: Forward osmosis is an emerging membrane separation process based on the natural tendency of water to flow from a solution of low solute concentration to one of higher concentration. In this process, feedwater (seawater, brackish water or wastewater) flows along one side of a membrane, while a more concentrated ‘draw’ solution or osmotic agent flows on the opposite side of the membrane. Clean water permeates through the membrane from the feed water to the draw solution leaving salts, contaminants and other feed solutes behind as a concentrated brine stream. This separation process requires no energy. The draw solution can then either be used or removed, recovered and recycle. Some have estimated this method could realize a 50% cost savings over RO in certain applications combined with dramatically lower carbon footprints. This research program focuses on developing novel thin film composite membrane structures tailored to forward osmosis specifications.

MODIFIED COMMERCIAL MEMBRANES FOR PRESSURE RETARDED OSMOSIS: Pressure retarded osmosis is an emerging renewable energy technology which, like forward osmosis, involves osmotic flow of water across a semi-permeable membrane. The osmotic flow is harnessed by a hydroturbine where it is converted to electricity. Naturally occurring osmotic pressure gradients (river deltas) and engineered gradients (osmotic engines) both rely on an appropriately designed membrane for efficient conversion of energy from osmotic pressure to electricity. This research program involves modifying commercial reverse osmosis membranes to enable their use in pressure retarded osmosis processes.

NOVEL MICROBIAL FUEL CELL ANODE USING ACTIVATED CARBON NANOFIBER: The microbial fuel cell is an emerging wastewater treatment technology that utilizes electrogenic bacteria to digest organic contaminants in wastewater while simultaneously producing electricity. The cogeneration of treated wastewater with electricity offer a unique technology that may be a self sustaining wastewater treatment option. This research program is currently funded by the National Science Foundation and involves fabricating an activated carbon nanofiber from an electrospun precursor. Professor Baikun Li, assistant professor in the Environmental Engineering Program, is a collaborator on the project.

NOVEL MEMBRANE CHARACTERIZATION METHODS: Thin film composite membrane characterization has often been limited to the selective layer. However, with ever increasing importance being placed on the structural properties of the support layer (especially in forward osmosis), novel characterization techniques will be needed to quantify structural properties. Various porosimetry techniques are being used to quantify the pore properties of membrane support layers while highly innovative imaging techniques, including MicroCT and focused ion beam SEM, will lead to three dimensional imaging of these structures.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PEDAGOGY DEVELOPMENT USING MEMBRANES: Membranes offer a unique opportunity for teaching fundamental engineering principles to undergraduate chemical engineers. Dr. McCutcheon and his students have developed a senior unit operations laboratory module based on reverse osmosis and forward osmosis. During this lab, students must calculate fundamental membrane constants (permeability and selectivity) while learning how process parameters and membrane design and chemistry impact performance.

ZERO ENERGY WATER PURIFIER FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD:  Nearly one-billion people in the world today lack access to safe drinking water.  Our hope is to bring a clean, safe and nutritious drink to those vulnerable to or afflicted with waterborn illness. In collaboration with Hydration Technologies Innovation, we are evaluating the Hydrowell System for use in harsh environments. With proper engineering, these commercial systems should be able to provide essential nutrients and electrolytes to victims of natural disaster or refugees without costly transport of bottled water. This project is being conducted through an existing USAID/HED project with the Environmental Engineering Program and with Engineers without Borders, USA-UCONN.

Huang, L., Bui, N., Manickam, S., McCutcheon, J.R., Controlling Nanofiber Morphology and Mechanical Properties Using Humidity, Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics 49, 2011, 1734-1744.

Bui, N. Lind, M.L., Hoek, E.M.V., McCutcheon, J.R., Electrospun Nanofiber Supported Thin Film Composite Membranes for Engineered Osmosis, Journal of Membrane Science 385-386, 2011, 10-19.

Arena, J., McCloskey, B., Freeman, B.D., McCutcheon, J.R., "Surface modification of thin film composite membrane support layers: Enabling reverse osmosis membranes for use in pressure retarded osmosis", Journal of Membrane Science 375, 2011, 55-62

Tang, Z.; Qiu, C.; McCutcheon, J.R.; Kyunghwan, Y.; Ma, H.; Fang, D.; Lee, E.; Kopp, C.; Hsiao, B.; Chu, B. “Design and fabrication of electrospun polyethersulfone nanofibrous scaffold for high-flux nanofiltration membranes”. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics 22, 2288-2300.

Garcia-Castello, E.M.; McCutcheon, J.R.; and Elimelech, M. “Performance Evaluation of Sucrose Concentration Using Forward Osmosis”, Journal of Membrane Science 338, 2009, 61-66.

McCutcheon, J.R.; Elimelech, M. “Influence of membrane support layer hydrophobicity on water flux in osmotically driven membrane processes”, Journal of Membrane Science 318, 2008, 458-466.

McGinnis, R.L.; McCutcheon, J.R.; Elimelech, M. “A novel ammonia-carbon dioxide osmotic heat engine for power generation”, Journal of Membrane Science 305, 2007, 13-19.

McCutcheon, J.R.; Elimelech, M. “Modeling water flux in forward osmosis: Implications for improved membrane design”, AIChE Journal 53, 2007, 1736-1744.

McCutcheon, J.R.; McGinnis, R.L.; Elimelech, M. “The ammonia-carbon dioxide forward osmosis desalination process”, Water Conditioning & Purification, October 2006.

McCutcheon, J.R.; Elimelech, M. “Influence of concentrative and dilutive internal concentration polarization on flux behavior in forward osmosis”, Journal of Membrane Science 284, 2006, 237-247.

McCutcheon, J.R.; Elimelech, M. “Desalination by ammonia-carbon dioxide forward osmosis: Influence of draw and feed solution concentrations on process performance”, Journal of Membrane Science 278, 2006, 114-123.

Gray, G.; McCutcheon, J.R.; Elimelech, M. “Internal concentration polarization in forward osmosis: role of membrane orientation”, Desalination 197, 2006, 1-8.

McCutcheon, J.R.; McGinnis, R.L.; Elimelech, M. “A novel ammonia-carbon dioxide forward (direct) osmosis desalination process”, Desalination 174, 2005, 1-11.

Nghiem, L.D.; McCutcheon, J; Schäfer A.I. Elimelech, M. “The role of endocrine disruptors in water recycling: risk or mania?” Water Science and Technology 50, 2004, 215-220.