Tzahi Cath

Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Director, the Advanced Water Technology Center (AQWATEC)
Co-Director, the Colorado Center for a Sustainable WE²ST
Joint Appointment, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Water and the Environment

My primary field of research is the development of water and wastewater (municipal and industrial) treatment technologies to enable non-potable and potable reuse of impaired water. Specific areas of research include membrane filtration and desalination processes, direct potable reuse, advanced biological treatment systems, data science integration in water systems, (renewable)energy-water systems, and decision support tools for selection and optimization of water treatment systems.

Education

• PhD in Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 2003
• MS in Environmental Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, 2001
• BSc in Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, 1992

Research

• Water reclamation and reuse
• Industrial wastewater treatment
• Direct potable reuse
• Integrated water-energy systems
• Data science integration in water systems

Recent Publications

• Google Scholar
• Peng Xie, Tzahi Y. Cath, David A. Ladner, Mass transport in osmotically driven membrane processes, Membranes 11(1) (2021) 29.
• Crosson, C., Achilli, A., Zuniga-Teran, A.A., Mack, E.A., Albrecht, T., Shrestha, P., Boccelli, D.L., Cath, T.Y., Daigger, G.T., Duan, J., Lansey, K.E., Meixner, T., Pincetl, S., Scott, C.A., Net zero urban water from concept to applications: Integrating natural, built and social systems for responsive and adaptive solutions, ES&T Water (2021) in press.
• Nicholas, E.R., Cath, T.Y., Evaluation of sequencing batch bioreactor followed by media filtration for organic carbon and nitrogen removal in produced water, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 40 (2021) 101863.
• Lou, J., Johnston, J., Cath, T.Y., Martinand, D., Tilton, N., Computational fluid dynamics simulations of unsteady mixing in spacer-filled direct contact membrane distillation channels, Journal of Membrane Science (2021) 118931.
• Newhart, K.B., Goldman-Torres, J.E., Freedman, D.E., Wisdom, K.B., Hering, A.S., Cath, T.Y., Prediction of peracetic acid disinfection performance for secondary municipal wastewater treatment using artificial neural networks, ES&T Water (2020) in press.
• Klanderman, M.C., Newhart, K.B., Cath, T.Y., Hering, A.S., Case studies in real-time fault isolation in a decentralized wastewater treatment facility, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 38 (2020) 101556.
• Sedlacko, E.M., Chaparro, J.M., Heuberger, A.L., Cath, T.Y., Higgins, C.P., Effect of produced water treatment technologies on irrigation-induced metal and salt accumulation in wheat (Triticum aestivum) and sunflower (Helianthus annus), Science of the Total Environment, 740 (2020) 140003.
• Klanderman, M., Newhart, K.B., Cath, T.Y., Hering, A.S., Fault isolation for a complex decentralized wastewater treatment facility, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 69 (2020) 931-951.
• Newhart, K.B., Marks, C.A., Rauch-Williams, T., Cath, T.Y., Hering, A.S., Hybrid statistical-machine learning ammonia forecasting in continuous activated sludge treatment for improved process control, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 37 (2020) 101389.
• Maltos, R.A., Holloway, R.W., Cath, T.Y., Enhancement of activated sludge wastewater treatment with hydraulic selection, Separation and Purification Technology, 250 (2020) 117214.
• Rao, U., Iddya, A., Jung, B., Khor, C.M., Hendren, Z., Turchi, C., Cath, T.Y., Hoek, E.V.M, Ramon, G.Z., Jassby, D., Mineral scale prevention on electrically conducting membrane distillation membranes using induced electrophoretic mixing, Environmental Science & Technology, 54 (6) (2020) 3678–3690.
• Huo, X., Vanneste, J., Cath, T.Y., Strathmann, T.J., A hybrid catalytic hydrogenation/membrane distillation process for nitrogen resource recovery from nitrate-contaminated waste ion exchange brine, Water Research, 175 (2020) 115688.