Staff Profile

Background

I am an experienced researcher in the area of industrial ecology with more than 10 years of experience focused on sustainability assessment of different production systems.

My main area of expertise embraces life cycle assessment and costing of a wide range of production/service systems including agricultural production, biofuels, waste management and most importantly transportation. Having experience in industrial ecology, I am an expert in LCI data collection and analysis of environmental impacts associated with complicated industrial systems and technologies including emerging technologies.

I am also active in teaching, and supervising MSc and PhD students. As a part of my commitment to the research community, I collaborate with different high-quality journals as an editor or reviewer.

Qualifications 

PhD in Agricultural Mechanization Engineering (2013- 2017)

MSc in Agricultural Mechanization Engineering (2011- 2013) 

BSc in Agricultural Mechanization Engineering (2007- 2011)

Previous Positions

2019-2023 Research Associate, Environmental Engineering, Newcastle University, the UK

2013-2019 Environmental Consultant and Head of LCA group, Biofuel Research Team, Iran

2017-2018 Research Associate, Sugar Beet Seed Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Iran

2012-2013 Research Assistant, Renewable Energy Laboratories, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran

Activities for international journals (Editor)

• Editor, Data in Brief (Elsevier)
• Member of the editorial board, Journal of Cleaner Production (Elsevier)
• Advisory Board, Heliyon Environment (Cell Press)

Reviewer for Journals

• Nature scientific report
• Journal of Industrial Ecology
• Renewable and sustainable energy reviews
• Sustainable Production and Consumption
• Science
• Energy & Environmental Science
• Journal of Cleaner production
• Science advances
• The international journal of life cycle assessment
• Waste Management
• Resources conservation and recycling
• Science of The Total Environment
• Sustainable materials and technologies
• and many other journals.

Google Scholar: Click here. 

LinkedIn: Click here.

Research Interests

My research interests are generally motivated by sustainability issues. More specifically:

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and costing (LCC),

• Sustainability assessment of Biorefineries,

• Environmental, resource and waste management,

• Sustainability assessment of electrified road vehicles,

• Low carbon transport strategies and raw material requirements/opportunities,

• Combining different assessment methods with LCA,

• Climate change mitigation strategies.

Funded Projects

-FUSE (Faraday Undergraduate Summer Internship), Data Gathering and Analysis of Lithium-Ion Batteries (DAGA- LiB)

-Environmental impact assessment of Sugar Industry (Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization of Iran)

-First Pilot Utilisation of Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel in Bus Fleet in Iran (UNDP)

 Reviewer

-Reviewer for International Journals:

• Science, https://www.science.org/journals
• Science Advances, https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv
• Nature Scientific Reports, https://www.nature.com/srep/about 
• Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews https://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-and-sustainable-energy-reviews
• Journal of Cleaner production http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-cleaner-production/
• International Journal of Lifecycle Assessment, http://www.springer.com/environment/journal/11367
• Journal of Industrial Ecology, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/15309290/homepage/editorialboard.html
• Science of the Total Environment, https://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment
  
• Energy, https://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy/
• Resources, Conservation and Recycling https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling
• Sustainable materials and technologies,https://www.journals.elsevier.com/sustainable-materials-and-technologies
  
• Sustainable Cities and Society, https://www.journals.elsevier.com/sustainable-cities-and-society
• Energy conversion and management, https://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy-conversion-and-management
• Sustainable production and consumption https://www.journals.elsevier.com/sustainable-production-and-consumption/

-Thesis examiner and proposal reviewer:

• Proposal reviewer for Office of Graduate Studies, Qatar University, Qatar (2022).
• Thesis examiner: MSc theses in Environmental Engineering, department of environmental engineering, Newcastle University, UK (2019-2022).
• Thesis examiner: MSc thesis: ‘evaluation of energy generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through different solid waste management in NSW’ for Macquarie University, Australia (2017).

Teaching records

• CEG 8105:Decision support tools in waste management
• CME 8065:Industrial ecology-Life cycle assessment (LCA)
• CEG 8105:Battery waste management and recycling
• CEG 8105:Environmental impacts of Batteries

Supervision and advisory

• Supervisor: MSc students
• Advisor: Ph.D. and MSc students

• Articles

  • Bradley T, Rajaeifar MA, Kenny A, Hainsworth C, del Pino V, del Valle Inclan Y, Povoa I, Mendonca P, Brown L, Smallbone A, Roskilly AP, Joyce S, Heidrich O. Life cycle assessment of microalgae-derived biodiesel. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2023, 28, 590–609.
  • Heidrich O, Ford A, Dawson RJ, Manning D, Mohareb E, Raugei M, Baars J, Rajaeifar MA. LAYERS: A Decision-Support Tool to Illustrate and Assess the Supply and Value Chain for the Energy Transition. Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7120.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Belcher O, Parkinson S, Neimark B, Weir D, Ashworth K, Larbi R, Heidrich O. Decarbonize the military - mandate emissions reporting. Nature 2022, 611(7934), 29-32.
  • Baars J, Rajaeifar MA, Heidrich O. Quo vadis MFA? Integrated material flow analysis to support material efficiency. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2022, 26(4), 1487-1503.
  • Christensen PA, Anderson PA, Harper GDJ, Lambert SM, Mrozik W, Rajaeifar MA, Wise MS, Heidrich O. Risk management over the life cycle of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2021, 148, 111240.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Raugei M, Steubing B, Hartwell A, Anderson PA, Heidrich O. Life cycle assessment of lithium-ion battery recycling using pyrometallurgical technologies. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2021, 25(6), 1560-1571.
  • Melin HE, Rajaeifar MA, Ku AY, Kendall A, Harper G, Heidrich O. Global implications of the EU battery regulation. Science 2021, 373(6553), 384-387.
  • Lander L, Cleaver T, Rajaeifar MA, Nguyen-Tien V, Elliott RJR, Heidrich O, Kendrick E, Edge JS, Offer G. Financial viability of electric vehicle lithium-ion battery recycling. iScience 2021, 24(7), 102787.
  • Sommerville R, Zhu P, Rajaeifar MA, Heidrich O, Goodship V, Kendrick E. A qualitative assessment of lithium ion battery recycling processes. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2021, 165, 105219.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Heidrich O, Ghadimi P, Raugei M, Wu Y. Sustainable supply and value chains of electric vehicle batteries. Resources, Conservation & Recycling 2020, 161, 104905.
  • Zheng T, Wang B, Rajaeifar MA, Heidrich O, Zheng J, Liang Y, Zhang H. How government policies can make waste cooking oil-to-biodiesel supply chains more efficient and sustainable. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 263, 121494.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M, Nizami A-S, Heidrich O. Emissions from urban bus fleets running on biodiesel blends under real-world operating conditions: Implications for designing future case studies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2019, 111, 276-292.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Sadeghzadeh Hemayati S, Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M, Mahmoudi SB. A review on beet sugar industry with a focus on implementation of waste-to-energy strategy for power supply. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2019, 103, 423-442.
  • Shirzad M, Kazemi Shariat Panahi H, Dashti BB, Rajaeifar MA, Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M. A comprehensive review on electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through anaerobic digestion of agricultural and livestock/slaughterhouse wastes in Iran. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2019, 111, 571-594.
  • Khoshnevisan B, Rafiee S, Tabatabaei M, Ghanavati H, Mohtasebi SS, Rajaeifar MA. Response to “Prognostication of energy use and environmental impacts for recycle system of municipal solid waste management”. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 164, 1376-1379.
  • Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, Mohammadi P, Khoshnevisan B, Rajaeifar MA, Pakzad M. Neat diesel beats waste-oriented biodiesel from the exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental point of views. Energy Conversion and Management 2017, 148, 1-15.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Abdi R, Tabatabaei M. Expanded polystyrene waste application for improving biodiesel environmental performance parameters from life cycle assessment point of view. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2017, 74, 278-298.
  • Yunos M, Chu CJ, Baharuddin AS, Mokhtar MN, Sulaiman A, Rajaeifar MA, Nabavi Larimi Y, Farhad Talebi A, Afandi M, Mohammed P, Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M. Enhanced oil recovery and lignocellulosic quality from oil palm biomass using combined pretreatment with compressed water and steam. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 142(4), 3834-3849.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Ghanavati H, Dashti BB, Heijungs R, Tabatabaei M. Electricity generation and GHG emission reduction potentials through different municipal solid waste management technologies: A comparative review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2017, 79, 414-439.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Tabatabaei M, Latifi AM, Saberi F, Askari M, Zenouzi A, Ghorbani M. Attributional and consequential environmental assessment of using waste cooking oil-and poultry fat-based biodiesel blends in urban buses: a real-world operation condition study. Biofuel Research Journal 2017, 4(3), 638-653.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Akram A, Ghobadian B, Rafiee SH, Heijungs R, Tabatabaei M. Environmental impact assessment of olive pomace oil biodiesel production and consumption: A comparative lifecycle assessment. Energy 2016, 106, 87-102.
  • Khoshnevisan B, Shafieic M, Rajaeifar MA, Tabatabaei M. Biogas and bioethanol production from pinewood pre-treated with steam explosion and N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO): A comparative life cycle assessment approach. Energy 2016, 114, 935-950.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Tabatabaei M, Ghanavati H. Data supporting the comparative life cycle assessment of different municipal solid waste management scenarios. Data in Brief 2015, 3, 189-194.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Tabatabaei M, Ghanavati H, Khoshnevisan B. Comparative life cycle assessment of different municipal solid waste management scenarios in Iran. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2015, 51, 886-898.
  • Khoshnevisan B, Rajaeifar MA, Clark S, Shamahirband S, Anuar NB, Shuib NLM, Gani A. Evaluation of traditional and consolidated rice farms in Guilan Province, Iran, using life cycle assessment and fuzzy modeling. Science of the Total Environment 2014, 481, 242-251.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Akram A, Ghobadian B, Heidari MD. Energy-economic life cycle assessment (LCA) and greenhouse gas emissions analysis of olive oil production in Iran. Energy 2014, 66, 139-149.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Ghobadian B, Safa M, Heidari MD. Energy life-cycle assessment and CO₂ emissions analysis of soybean-based biodiesel: a case study. Journal of Cleaner Production 2014, 66, 233-241.
  • Khoshnevisan B, Omid M, Mousazadeh H, Rajaeifar MA. Application of artificial neural networks for prediction of output energy and GHG emissions in potato production in Iran. Agricultural Systems 2014, 123, 120-127.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Ghobadian B, Heidari MD, Fayyazi E. Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of biodiesel production from rapeseed in Iran. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy 2013, 5(6), 063134.

• Book Chapters

  • Aghbashlo M, Tabatabaei M, Rajaeifar MA, Rosen MA. Exergy-Based Sustainability Analysis of Biodiesel Production and Combustion Processes. In: Tabatabaei M; Aghbashlo M, ed. Biodiesel From Production to Combustion. Berlin: Springer, 2019, pp.193-217.
  • Rajaeifar MA, Tabatabaei M, Hemayati SS, Heijungs R. Biodiesel Production and Consumption: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Approach. In: Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M, ed. Biodiesel: From Production to Combustion. Cham: Springer, 2019, pp.161-192.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Rajaeifar MA, Heidrich O. Prospective life cycle assessment to avoid unintended consequences of net-zero solutions and its challenges. In: The 11th International Conference on Industrial Ecology (ISIE2023). 2023.
  • Rajaeifar M, Heidrich O, Creutzig F, Blythe P, Hill G. The limited impact electro mobility will have on reaching climate change mitigation targets. In: 10th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE2019). 2019, Beijing, China: International Society for Industrial Ecology.
  • Skeete JP, Heidrich O, Rajaeifar M, Hill G, Wells P. Cars, EVs and battery recycling forecasts and economic models. In: 10th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE2019). 2019, Beijing, China: International Society for Industrial Ecology.

• Editorial

  • Rajaeifar MA, Ghadimi P, Raugei M, Wu Y, Heidrich O. Challenges and recent developments in supply and value chains of electric vehicle batteries: A sustainability perspective. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2022, 180, 106144.

• Reviews

  • Torkayesh AE, Rajaeifar MA, Rostom M, Malmir B, Yazdani M, Suh S, Heidrich O. Integrating life cycle assessment and multi criteria decision making for sustainable waste management: Key issues and recommendations for future studies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2022, 168, 112819.
  • Mrozik W, Rajaeifar MA, Heidrich O, Christensen P. Environmental impacts, pollution sources and pathways of spent lithium-ion batteries. Energy and Environmental Science 2021, 14(12), 6099-6121.