Details of the Researcher

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Zhengyang Zhang
Section
Graduate School of Environmental Studies
Job title
Assistant Professor
Degree
  • 博士(環境科学)(東北大学)

  • 修士(国際文化)(東北大学)

Research History 3

  • 2020/04 - Present
    Tohoku University Graduate School of Environmental Studies Assistant Professor

  • 2021/04 - 2022/03
    Tohoku Gakuin University Faculty of Economics Teacher

  • 2013/04 - 2017/03
    SEINAN Corporation Corporate Planning Department Regular Position

Education 5

  • Tohoku University Graduate School of Environmental Studies International Environmental Leadership program

    2017/04 - 2020/03

  • Tohoku University Graduate School of Environmental Studies Department of Environmental Studies for Advanced Society

    2017/04 - 2020/03

  • Tohoku University Graduate School of International Cultural Studies Department of Intercultural Relations

    2011/04 - 2013/03

  • Tohoku University Graduate School of International Cultural Studies Department of Intercultural Relations

    2010/10 - 2011/03

  • University of Science and Technology Beijing School of Foreign Studies Japanese

    2006/09 - 2010/07

Committee Memberships 6

  • Tohoku University Chinese alumini Laison Person

    2022/01 - Present

  • Circular Economy Section of the Chinese Society of Environmental Science Committee Member

    2023/05 - 2028/05

  • The 17th Biennial International Conference on EcoBalance Committee Member

    2025/05 - 2027/03

  • The 16th Biennial International Conference on EcoBalance Executive Committee Local Executive Committee Chair

    2023/09 - 2024/12

  • The Student Chapter of International Society for Industrial Ecology President

    2019/11 - 2020/10

  • International Society for Industrial Ecology Asian representor

    2018/11 - 2019/10

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Professional Memberships 4

  • Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies

    2020/09 - Present

  • International Society for Industrial Ecology

    2018/07 - Present

  • The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan

    2018/01 - Present

  • The Institute of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan

    2017/10 - Present

Research Interests 1

  • Material cycles, Recycling, Sustainable resource management, Supply-chain risk analysis

Research Areas 1

  • Environmental science/Agricultural science / Recycling systems and society / Recycling, Reuse, Remanufacturing, Material Flow Anaysis, Resource Circularity

Awards 6

  1. 東京エレクトロンポスター発表優秀賞

    2024/02 東京エレクトロン株式会社 半導体産業のサプライチェーンリスク解析

  2. Professional Director for Sustainable Environment

    2020/03 Tohoku University International Environmental Leadership program

  3. Certificate of Merit for University House Advisor

    2020/01 Tohoku University

  4. Best Poster Award

    2019/06 Tohoku University 1st Academic Forum on Environmental Studies

  5. Best Student Presentation Award

    2018/11 Institute of Urban Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences & Tokyo University Sino-Japan Symposium for Industrial Ecology 2018

  6. Award of Excellent Presentation

    2018/03 Tsinghua University The 13th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology

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Papers 24

  1. Impact of remanufacturing on the reduction of metal losses through the life cycles of vehicle engines International-journal Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang Zhang, Kazuyo Matsubae, Kenichi Nakajima

    Resources, Conservation and Recycling 170 105614-105614 2021/07/15

    Publisher: Elsevier {BV}

    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105614  

    ISSN: 0921-3449

    eISSN: 1879-0658

  2. Induced social responsibility in global mineral supply chains: Fatalities from tailings dam failures

    Tomoya Sugiyama, Zhengyang Zhang, Xianlai Zeng, Kazuyo Matsubae

    Journal of Cleaner Production 2025/08

    DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145983  

  3. Sustainable Construction Material: Development and Evaluation of a Low-Carbon, Industrial Solid Waste-Based Cementitious Material Peer-reviewed

    Lin Zhao, Dongxu Wu, Wentao Hu, Zhengyang Zhang, Feihua Yang, Zhaojia Wang

    Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy 11 (1) 670-681 2025/02/18

    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

    DOI: 10.1007/s40831-025-01008-3  

    ISSN: 2199-3823

    eISSN: 2199-3831

  4. Exploring antimony material flow in the context of energy transition: A scenario-based analysis

    Zhengyang Zhang

    Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2025

    DOI: 10.1016/J.RESCONREC.2025.108432  

  5. Recovery of neodymium and iron from NdFeB waste by combined electrochemical–hydrometallurgical process Peer-reviewed

    Xiao, F., Hu, W., Li, B., Zhu, H., Zhang, Z.

    Separation and Purification Technology 353 2025/01

    DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2024.128301  

    ISSN: 1383-5866 1873-3794

  6. Development of a policy-based distance-to-target weighting method in life cycle impact assessment for Nigeria Peer-reviewed

    Mohammed Engha Isah, Zhengyang Zhang, Kazuyo Matsubae

    The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 2024/11/29

    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

    DOI: 10.1007/s11367-024-02406-7  

    ISSN: 0948-3349

    eISSN: 1614-7502

    More details Close

    Abstract Purpose Weighting in LCA is important as it supports decision-making by prioritising and determining which impact categories are more important. However, the lack of weighting factors in developing countries forces LCA practitioners to adopt weighting values developed for other countries, leading to a less transparent decision-making process. One transparent and easily reproducible distance-to-target (DtT) weighting method that can be applied in Nigeria is the Swiss-developed ecological scarcity method. This method is based on the ratio of the current environmental situation of a country, region or product to the desired policy targets. The purpose of this study was to apply the ESM to develop weighting factors and eco-factors for Nigeria. Methods The normalization and current flows data for emissions and resource use in 2010 (base year) were collected from official data sources, and the critical flows were extracted from corresponding policy targets of the Government of Nigeria in 2030 (target year). The ESM was then applied to the aggregated data to derive Nigeria-specific weighting factors and eco-factors as the quantitative indicators for the emissions and resources. Results and discussion Weighting and eco-factors for emissions and resources were developed for 25 environmental issues in Nigeria. NOx, total petroleum hydrocarbon and land use weigh heavily. Except for carcinogenic substances in the air, emissions to water resulted in high eco-factors: TPH, phenol, total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonia and heavy metals (human and ecotoxicity). Policymakers in Nigeria need to set quantitative emission reduction targets for substances and such as carcinogenic substances in the air, oil spills and metal mineral resources. Conclusions The ESM was used to develop Nigeria’s eco-factors as quantitative indicators for emissions or resource use using the normalization and current flows in 2010 obtained from government data sources as base year data. The critical flows were extracted from the policy targets of the government of Nigeria, with 2030 as the target year. The eco-factors can support environmental sustainability decision-making in Nigeria. Future methodological development should apply updated policy targets and more data to calculate eco-factors for missing substances such as waste (radioactive and non-radioactive), heavy metal emissions to air and soil, emissions to groundwater, photochemical ozone creation substances and phosphorous in surface water and soil.

  7. Agricultural plastic pollution in China: Sources, supply chain drivers, and mitigation strategies

    Zhao, C., Zhang, Z., Matsubae, K., Wang, Y., Lian, Z., Ma, S.

    Sustainable Horizons 11 2024/09

    DOI: 10.1016/j.horiz.2024.100102  

    ISSN: 2772-7378

  8. Adequacy and Distribution Equity of Nutrition Supplies across China Peer-reviewed

    Zhao, C., Zhang, Z., Matsubae, K.

    Nutrients 16 (3) 2024/01/31

    DOI: 10.3390/nu16030426  

    ISSN: 2072-6643

  9. Bibliometric analysis and visualisation of research on life cycle assessment in Africa (1992–2022)

    Isah, M.E., Zhang, Z., Matsubae, K., Itsubo, N.

    International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 29 (7) 2024

    DOI: 10.1007/s11367-024-02313-x  

    ISSN: 0948-3349 1614-7502

  10. Organic Acid‐Based Hydrothermal Leaching of LiFePO Cathode Materials Peer-reviewed

    Zixian Li, Qingxin Zheng, Akitoshi Nakajima, Zhengyang Zhang, Masaru Watanabe

    Advanced Sustainable Systems 2023/12/10

    Publisher: Wiley

    DOI: 10.1002/adsu.202300421  

    ISSN: 2366-7486

    eISSN: 2366-7486

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    Abstract This study conducts hydrothermal leaching of commercial LiFePO4 (LFPO) cathode materials with oxalic acid, citric acid, or glycine without any other oxidants or reductants. Of these acids, glycine exhibits the weakest leaching behavior, with the leaching efficiency of lithium (Li), iron (Fe), or phosphorus (P) less than 15% even at 200 °C and an acid concentration of 0.8 mol L−1 for 10 min. For oxalic acid, at 200 °C for 10 min, with a pulp density of 30 g L−1 and an acid concentration of 0.8 mol L−1, the leaching efficiencies for Li and P are 100% and 97%, respectively, and 98.5% of Fe precipitates as iron oxalate (FeC2O4) that can be used as a precursor for preparing LFPO cathode materials. Citric acid shows the highest leaching efficiency for Li, Fe, and P, reaching 96%, 100%, and 88%, respectively, at 90 °C for 10 min with a pulp density of 10 g L−1 and an acid concentration of 0.8 mol L−1. The continuous hydrothermal leaching of LFPO cathode materials with citric acid is first achieved. These results clarify the superiority of citric acid over oxalic acid and glycine with respect to the leaching efficiency for Li, Fe, and P from LFPO batteries under hydrothermal conditions.

  11. Recycling NdFeB Magnets and Rare Earth Fluorescent Materials from Electronic Waste Peer-reviewed

    Qiande Xu, Dongxu Wu, Wentao Hu, Zhengyang Zhang, Xinwei Liu, Feihua Yang, Zhaojia Wang

    JOM 2023/11/13

    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

    DOI: 10.1007/s11837-023-06235-1  

    ISSN: 1047-4838

    eISSN: 1543-1851

  12. Countries’ vulnerability to food supply disruptions caused by the Russia–Ukraine war from a trade dependency perspective Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang Zhang, Meshal J. Abdullah, Guochang Xu, Kazuyo Matsubae, Xianlai Zeng

    Scientific Reports 13 (1) 2023/10/03

    DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43883-4  

    eISSN: 2045-2322

  13. China’s recycling potential of large-scale public transport vehicles and its implications Peer-reviewed

    Xiong, X., Zeng, X., Hu, Z., Zhang, Z., Matsubae, K., Pell, R.

    Communications Engineering 2 (1) 2023/08/07

    DOI: 10.1038/s44172-023-00106-y  

    ISSN: 2731-3395

  14. Coupling Mineralization and Product Characteristics of Steel Slag and Carbon Dioxide Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang Zhang

    Minerals 13 (6) 795-795 2023/06/10

    DOI: 10.3390/MIN13060795  

    ISSN: 2075-163X

  15. Wrought and cast aluminum flows in China in the context of electric vehicle diffusion and automotive lightweighting Peer-reviewed

    Binze Wang, Zhengyang Zhang, Guochang Xu, Xianlai Zeng, Wentao Hu, Kazuyo Matsubae

    Resources, Conservation and Recycling 191 2023/04

    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.106877  

    ISSN: 0921-3449

    eISSN: 1879-0658

  16. A solid-state electrolysis process for upcycling aluminium scrap Peer-reviewed

    Xin Lu, Zhengyang Zhang, Takehito Hiraki, Osamu Takeda, Hongmin Zhu, Kazuyo Matsubae, Tetsuya Nagasaka

    Nature 606 (7914) 511-515 2022/04/13

    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}

    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04748-4  

    ISSN: 0028-0836

    eISSN: 1476-4687

  17. Multi-regional land disturbances induced by mineral use in a product-based approach: A case study of gasoline, hybrid, battery electric and fuel cell vehicle production in Japan Peer-reviewed

    Shoki Kosai, Liao Hanqing, Zhengyang Zhang, Kazuyo Matsubae, Eiji Yamasue

    Resources, Conservation and Recycling 178 106093-106093 2022/03

    Publisher: Elsevier {BV}

    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.106093  

    ISSN: 0921-3449

    eISSN: 1879-0658

  18. Potential for Food Self-Sufficiency Improvements through Indoor and Vertical Farming in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Challenges and Opportunities from the Case of Kuwait Peer-reviewed

    Meshal J. Abdullah, zhengyang zhang, Kazuyo Matsubae

    Sustainability 13 (22) 2021/11

    DOI: 10.3390/su132212553  

    eISSN: 2071-1050

  19. Flotation and tailing discarding of copper cobalt sulfide ores based on the process mineralogy characteristics Peer-reviewed

    Hu, W., Tian, K., Guo, J., Yu, H., Wang, H., Zhang, Z., Liu, X.

    Minerals 11 (10) 1078-1078 2021/09/30

    DOI: 10.3390/min11101078  

    ISSN: 2075-163X

  20. Evaluation of environmental and economic benefits of land reclamation in the indonesian coal mining industry Peer-reviewed

    Setiawan, I.E., Zhang, Z., Matsubae, K., Corder, G.

    Resources 10 (6) 60-60 2021/06/07

    DOI: 10.3390/resources10060060  

    ISSN: 2079-9276

  21. A review of challenges and opportunities for end‐of‐life vehicle recycling in developing countries and emerging economies: A swot analysis Peer-reviewed

    Numfor, S.A., Zhang, Z., Matsubae, K., Omosa, G.

    Sustainability Switzerland 13 (9) 4918-4918 2021/04/27

    DOI: 10.3390/su13094918  

    ISSN: 2071-1050

    eISSN: 2071-1050

  22. An estimation of the amount of dissipated alloy elements in special steel from automobile recycling International-journal Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang Zhang

    Matériaux & Techniques 107 (1) 105-105 2019/03/21

    DOI: 10.1051/MATTECH/2019007  

    ISSN: 0032-6895 1778-3771

    eISSN: 1778-3771

  23. The latest trend of automobile recycling in China

    CHE JIA, ZHANG ZHENGYANG, XI KAIPENG, YU JEONGSOO

    Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management 23 217-217 2012

    Publisher: Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management

    DOI: 10.14912/jsmcwm.23.0_217  

  24. -Actual Condition Analysis of Urban Mining Project in China-Case Study on Tangshan City-

    XI KAIPENG, CHE JIA, YU JEONGSOO, ZHANG ZHENGYANG

    Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management 23 141-141 2012

    Publisher: Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management

    DOI: 10.14912/jsmcwm.23.0_141  

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Misc. 8

  1. Report on the 14th International Society for Industrial Ecology-Socio-Economic Metabolism (ISIE-SEM) Conference Invited Peer-reviewed

    ZHANG Zhengyang

    Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan 19 (1) 42-44 2023/01

    Publisher: Institute of Life Cycle Assessment

    DOI: 10.3370/lca.19.42  

    ISSN: 1880-2761

    eISSN: 1881-0519

  2. The potential for energy recovery from end-of-life tire recycling in Cameroon: A system dynamics approach Peer-reviewed

    NUMFOR Solange Ayuni, ZHANG Zhengyang, MATSUBAE Kazuyo

    2020/11

    DOI: 10.14912/jsmcwm.31.0_489  

  3. Environmental Impact Assessment on Recycling of Agricultural By-Products: Case Study of Rice Husk Silica

    Jiarui LIU, Zhengyang ZHANG, Kazuyo MATSUBAE

    2020/10

  4. Recovery and recycling of rice husk, its benefits and challenges based on life cycle Peer-reviewed

    Liu Jiarui, Zhang Zhengyang, Matsubae Kazuyo

    Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management 31 209 2020/09

    Publisher: Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management

    DOI: 10.14912/jsmcwm.31.0_209  

  5. Scenario analysis on recycling of special steel alloys focusing on automobile engines Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang Zhang, Kentaro Takeyama, Kenichi Nakajima, Kazuyo Matsubae

    Current Advances in Materials and Processes (CD-ROM) 32 (1) 198-198 2019/03

    ISSN: 1882-8922

  6. Report on the 12th Society and Materials International Conference (SAM12) Invited Peer-reviewed

    ZHANG Zhengyang

    Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan 14 (3) 234-235 2018/07

    Publisher: The Institute of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan

    DOI: 10.3370/lca.14.234  

    ISSN: 1880-2761

    eISSN: 1881-0519

  7. Matsubae Lab., Environmental Policies Division, Department of Environmental Studies for Advanced Society, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University Invited Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang ZHANG

    Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan 14 (2) 186-187 2018/04

    Publisher: Institute of Life Cycle Assessment

    DOI: 10.3370/lca.14.186  

    ISSN: 1880-2761

    eISSN: 1881-0519

  8. Scenario analysis on parts reuse and material recycling of end-of-life vehicles Peer-reviewed

    Zhengyang Zhang, Kentaro Takeyama, Kazuyo Matsubae, Kenichi Nakajima

    Current Advances in Materials;Processes (CD-ROM) 31 (1) 224-224 2018/03/01

    ISSN: 1882-8922

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Presentations 11

  1. Potentials for Food Self-sufficiency Improvement through Indoor Vertical Farming in Kuwait

    Zhengyang ZHANG, Meshal J. ABDULLAH, Kazuyo MATSUBAE

    The 14th International Society for Industrial Ecology-Socio-Economic Metabolism Section (ISIE-SEM) Conference 2022/09/20

  2. The development and application of material flow anlysis Invited

    Zhengyang Zhang

    Material Flow Analysis Course, Tsinghua University 2022/05/09

  3. How to calculate the carbon footprint? Invited

    Zhengyang ZHANG

    Seminar on carbon neutrality in University of Science and Technology Beijing 2021/09/27

  4. Is Japan's High Material Recycling Rate Sufficient to Sustain a Circular Economy? Invited

    Zhengyang ZHANG

    The 580th Environmental Academic Salon at Tsinghua University 2021/09/23

  5. Estimation of Alloy Steel with multiple end-of-life strategies for vehicle engines

    Zhengyang Zhang

    The 10th International Conference of the International Society for Industrial Ecology 2019/07/08

  6. Analysis of steel alloy elements flows focusing on internal combustion engines

    Zhengyang Zhang

    Sino-Japan Symposium for Industrial Ecology 2018 2018/11/29

  7. A comparative study of the potential for material losses reduction between auto parts reuse and recycling

    Zhengyang Zhang

    The 13th Biennial International Conference on EcoBalance 2018/10/12

  8. Estimating the amount of steel alloy elements dissipated in recycling of end-of-life vehicles.

    Zhengyang Zhang

    The 12th Society and Materials International Conference 2018/05/22

  9. Scenario analysis of material recovery potential by reusing automobile parts in Japan

    張政陽

    The 13th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology 2018/03/24

  10. Dynamic material flow analysis of alloyed steel used in vehicle engines

    Zhengyang Zhang

    4th International Conference on Final Sinks 2017/10/25

  11. The Environmental and Social Impacts Behind Minerals Consumption Invited

    Zhengyang Zhang

    The 4th International Symposium on Design & Engineering by Joint Inverse Innovation for Materials Architecture (DEJl2MA2024) 2024/10/03

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Research Projects 10

  1. Development of a nudge support system for smart food choices: Towards sustainable eating behavior design

    Eiji Yamasue

    Offer Organization: National Agriculture and Food Research Organization

    System: Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP)

    Category: Building a sustainable food chain that provides abundant food

    Institution: Ritsumeikan University

    2023/12 - 2028/03

  2. Towards Sustainable Nitrogen Use Connecting Human Society and Nature Competitive

    Offer Organization: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

    System: Research Project

    Institution: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

    2021/04 - 2028/03

  3. Sustainable Consumption, Recycling, and Its Emission Reduction of Iron and Steel in China and Japan

    Kazuyo Matsubae, Zhengyang Zhang, Xianlai Zeng, Wei Liu, Moises Gomez

    Offer Organization: Tohoku University

    System: FY2025 Tohoku University–Tsinghua University Joint Research Fund

    Institution: Tohoku University

    2025/04 - 2027/03

  4. Russia-Ukraine War-Induced Changes in Supply Risks and Risk Hotspots of Key Metals in Low-Carbon Technology

    Zhengyang Zhang, Kazuyo Matsubae

    2024/04 - 2025/03

  5. Comprehensive Japanese Nitrogen Management for Reducing Nitrogen Waste

    Kazuya NISHINA

    Offer Organization: Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency

    System: Environment Research and Technology Development Fund

    Institution: National Institute for Environmental Studies

    2023/04 - 2025/03

  6. Accelerating the promotion of zero emission vehicles and abolition of gasoline vehicles: Comparative analysis of strategies in Japan, China, and Korea

    Offer Organization: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

    System: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)

    Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)

    Institution: Tohoku University

    2021/04 - 2025/03

  7. Technology development of refining aluminum alloy scrap to high-purity aluminum by solid-state electrolysis using molten salts Competitive

    Tetsuya Nagasaka, Hongmin Zhu, Osamu Takeda, Hiraki Takehito, Xin Lu, Kazuyo Matsubae, Zhengyang Zhang, GAMUTAN JONAH, LONGAQUIT

    Offer Organization: New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization

    System: FY2021 Building an Advanced Resource Recycling System for Aluminum

    Institution: Tohoku University

    2021/09 - 2024/03

  8. Dynamic material flow analysis of automotive lightweighting materials and effect verification of remanufacturing strategy

    Offer Organization: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

    System: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists

    Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists

    Institution: Tohoku University

    2021/04 - 2024/03

  9. Establishment of resource logistics analysis system for minimizing supply chain risks of mineral resources.

    Offer Organization: Japan Science and Technology Agency

    System: JST-Mirai Program (Small-start Type)

    Institution: Tohoku University

    2021/10 - 2023/03

  10. Accurate Assessment of the Resource Potential and Urban Metabolism Mechanism of End-of-life Vehicles in China and Japan

    Xianlai Zeng, Guochang Xu, Wenbo Huang, Kazuyo Matsubae, Zhengyang Zhang, Noriyoshi Tsuchiya, Toshiaki Yoshioka, Yuko Saito

    Offer Organization: Tohoku University and Tsinghua University

    System: Tohoku University and Tsinghua University Announce Joint Research Funds

    2021/04 - 2023/03

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Teaching Experience 2

  1. Seminar on Environmental Studies Tohoku University

  2. Information Literacy Tohoku Gakuin University

Academic Activities 8

  1. Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability

    2024/11 - Present

  2. Current Reaearch in Environmental Sustainability

    2024/02 - Present

    Activity type: Peer review

  3. Environmental Research Letters

    2023/12 - Present

    Activity type: Peer review

  4. Scientific Reports

    2022 - Present

    Activity type: Peer review

  5. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

    2022 - Present

    Activity type: Peer review

  6. Resources, Conservation & Recycling

    2022 - Present

    Activity type: Peer review

  7. Environmental Research

    Activity type: Peer review

  8. Journal of Industrial Ecology

    Activity type: Peer review

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