Dr Fanran Meng

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainable Chemical Engineering

USIC Tutor

Level 4 (undergraduate) Director

f.meng@sheffield.ac.uk

G18, Sir Robert Hadfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Fanran Meng
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
G18
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD

Profile

I graduated from China Central South University in 2013 with a BEng (Hons) in Materials Science and Engineering. I completed my PhD in Materials Engineering and Materials Design at the University of Nottingham in 2017. After this, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sustainable Materials and Energy Technologies at the University of Nottingham and then a Research Associate in Resource Efficiency and Sustainability Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

In 2023, I joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor).

My research focuses on resource efficiency and engineering sustainability driving reductions in environmental impacts and the development of sustainable engineering practices. My research applies and develops whole systems approaches (process simulation, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis with optimisation algorithm) to complex engineering systems to better understand the transition towards a low carbon economy. I have published ~30 research papers in top journals in sustainable engineering such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Nature Climate Change, Environmental Science & Technology, and Resources Conservation and Recycling.

Research interests

My research focuses on resource efficiency and engineering sustainability driving reductions in environmental impacts and the development of sustainable engineering practices. My research applies and develops whole systems approaches (process simulation, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis with optimisation algorithm) to sustainable material and energy systems to better understand the transition towards a low carbon economy. Ongoing work covers a wide range of materials, renewable energy, petrochemical and transportation sectors, e.g. carbon fibre composite recycling, wind turbine blades, lithium-ion EV batteries and plastics supply chain

Key research interests:

Sustainable Materials
Plastics and chemicals
Composite Recycling and Reuse
Renewable energy technologies
Material Flow Analysis
Life Cycle Assessment
Techno-economic Analysis
Resource efficiency
Circular economy

Publications

Journal articles

Huo D, Davies B, Li J, Alzaghrini N, Sun X, Meng F, Abdul-Manan AFN, McKechnie J, Posen ID & MacLean HL (2024) How do we decarbonize one billion vehicles by 2050? Insights from a comparative life cycle assessment of electrifying light-duty vehicle fleets in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom. Energy Policy, 195, 114390-114390.
Gast L, Meng F & Morgan D (2024) Assessing the circularity of onshore wind turbines: Using material flow analysis for improving end-of-life resource management. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 204, 107468-107468.
Bowler AL, Rodgers S, Meng F, McKechnie J, Cook DJ & Watson NJ (2023) Development of an open-source carbon footprint calculator of the UK craft brewing value chain. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140181-140181.
Llamas-Orozco JA, Meng F, Walker GS, Abdul-Manan AFN, MacLean HL, Posen ID & McKechnie J (2023) Estimating the environmental impacts of global lithium-ion battery supply chain: A temporal, geographical, and technological perspective. PNAS Nexus, 2(11).
Rodgers S, Bowler A, Wells L, Lee CS, Hayes M, Poulston S, Lester E, Meng F, McKechnie J & Conradie A (2023) A surrogate model for the economic evaluation of renewable hydrogen production from biomass feedstocks via supercritical water gasification. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
Rodgers S, Bowler A, Meng F, Poulston S, McKechnie J & Conradie A (2023) Probabilistic commodity price projections for unbiased techno-economic analyses. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 122, 106065-106065.
Huang X, Bao L, Bao R, Liu L, Tao J, Wang J, Zhang Z, Ge Z, Tan S, Yi J & Meng F (2023) Reinforced copper matrix composites with highly dispersed nano size TiC in-situ generated from the Carbon Polymer Dots. Advanced Powder Materials, 2(2), 100090-100090.
Meng F, Wagner A, Kremer AB, Kanazawa D, Leung JJ, Goult P, Guan M, Herrmann S, Speelman E, Sauter P , Lingeswaran S et al (2023) Planet-compatible pathways for transitioning the chemical industry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(8).
Xiao C, Zhou J, Meng F, Cullen J, Wang X & Zhu Y (2023) Regional characteristics and spatial correlation of haze pollution: Interpretative system analysis in cities of Fenwei Plain in China. Science of The Total Environment, 869, 161779-161779.
Qiao Y, Wang Z, Meng F, Parry T, Cullen J & Liu S (2022) Evaluating the economic and environmental impacts of road pavement using an integrated local sensitivity model. Journal of Cleaner Production, 371, 133615-133615.
Rodgers S, Meng F, Poulston S, Conradie A & McKechnie J (2022) Renewable butadiene: A case for hybrid processing via bio- and chemo-catalysis. Journal of Cleaner Production, 364, 132614-132614.
Liu P, Meng F & Barlow CY (2022) Wind turbine blade end-of-life options: An economic comparison. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 180, 106202-106202.
Upadhyayula VKK, Gadhamshetty V, Athanassiadis D, Tysklind M, Meng F, Pan Q, Cullen JM & Yacout DMM (2022) Wind Turbine Blades Using Recycled Carbon Fibers: An Environmental Assessment. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(2), 1267-1277.
Meng F, Dornau A, Mcqueen Mason SJ, Thomas GH, Conradie A & McKechnie J (2021) Bioethanol from autoclaved municipal solid waste: Assessment of environmental and financial viability under policy contexts. Applied Energy, 298, 117118-117118.
Heng H, Meng F & McKechnie J (2021) Wind turbine blade wastes and the environmental impacts in Canada. Waste Management, 133, 59-70.
Rodgers S, Conradie A, King R, Poulston S, Hayes M, Bommareddy RR, Meng F & McKechnie J (2021) Reconciling the Sustainable Manufacturing of Commodity Chemicals with Feasible Technoeconomic Outcomes : Assessing the investment case for heat integrated aerobic gas fermentation. Johnson Matthey Technology Review, 65(3), 375-394.
Ibbett R, Tucker G, McKechnie J & Meng F (2020) Enzyme digestion of biofiber from mechanical heat treated municipal solid waste: Accessing kinetic and rheological design data using a pilot-scale high-solids mixer. Biomass and Bioenergy, 143, 105817-105817.
Sun X, Luo X, Zhang Z, Meng F & Yang J (2020) Life cycle assessment of lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxide (NCM) batteries for electric passenger vehicles. Journal of Cleaner Production, 273, 123006-123006.
Meng F, Cui Y, Pickering S & McKechnie J (2020) From aviation to aviation: Environmental and financial viability of closed-loop recycling of carbon fibre composite. Composites Part B: Engineering, 200, 108362-108362.
Cui Y, Zhu J, Meng F, Zoras S, McKechnie J & Chu J (2020) Energy assessment and economic sensitivity analysis of a grid-connected photovoltaic system. Renewable Energy, 150, 101-115.
Meng F & McKechnie J (2019) Challenges in Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Waste-Based Biofuels in EU and US Biofuel Policies: Case Study of Butanol and Ethanol Production from Municipal Solid Waste. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(20), 12141-12149.
Sun X, Meng F, Liu J, McKechnie J & Yang J (2019) Life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emission of lightweight vehicle – A body-in-white design. Journal of Cleaner Production, 220, 1-8.
Meng F, Ibbett R, de Vrije T, Metcalf P, Tucker G & McKechnie J (2019) Process simulation and life cycle assessment of converting autoclaved municipal solid waste into butanol and ethanol as transport fuels. Waste Management, 89, 177-189.
Liu P, Meng F & Barlow CY (2019) Wind turbine blade end-of-life options: An eco-audit comparison. Journal of Cleaner Production, 212, 1268-1281.
Cui Y, Zhu J & Meng F (2018) Techno-economic evaluation of multiple energy piles for a ground-coupled heat pump system. Energy Conversion and Management, 178, 200-216.
Meng F, Olivetti EA, Zhao Y, Chang JC, Pickering SJ & McKechnie J (2018) Comparing Life Cycle Energy and Global Warming Potential of Carbon Fiber Composite Recycling Technologies and Waste Management Options. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 6(8), 9854-9865.
Meng F, McKechnie J & Pickering SJ (2018) An assessment of financial viability of recycled carbon fibre in automotive applications. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 109, 207-220.
Meng F, McKechnie J, Turner T, Wong KH & Pickering SJ (2017) Environmental Aspects of Use of Recycled Carbon Fiber Composites in Automotive Applications. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(21), 12727-12736.
Meng F, McKechnie J, Turner TA & Pickering SJ (2017) Energy and environmental assessment and reuse of fluidised bed recycled carbon fibres. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 100, 206-214.
Cullen L, Meng F, Lupton R & Cullen JM () Reducing uncertainties in greenhouse gas emissions from chemical production. Nature Chemical Engineering.
Meng F, Brandão M & Cullen JM () Replacing Plastics with Alternatives Is Worse for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Most Cases. Environmental Science & Technology.
Davies B, Llamas-Orozco JA, Meng F, Posen ID, MacLean HL, Abdul-Manan AFN & McKechnie J () Future material demand and greenhouse gas emissions implications for electrification of the UK light-duty vehicle fleet. RSC Sustainability.
Yang J, Meng F, Zhang L, McKechnie J, Chang Y, Ma B, Hao Y, Li X, Pender K, Yang L , Leeke GA et al () Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective. Communications Earth & Environment, 4(1).
Song L, van Ewijk S, Masanet E, Watari T, Meng F, Cullen JM, Cao Z & Chen W-Q () Author Correction: China’s bulk material loops can be closed but deep decarbonization requires demand reduction. Nature Climate Change.
Song L, van Ewijk S, Masanet E, Watari T, Meng F, Cullen JM, Cao Z & Chen W-Q () China’s bulk material loops can be closed but deep decarbonization requires demand reduction. Nature Climate Change.
Xiao C, Zhou J, Shen X, Cullen J, Dobson S, Meng F & Wang X () Rural Living Environment Governance: A Survey and Comparison between Two Villages in Henan Province of China. Sustainability, 14(21), 14136-14136.
Zaky AS, Carter CE, Meng F & French CE () A Preliminary Life Cycle Analysis of Bioethanol Production Using Seawater in a Coastal Biorefinery Setting. Processes, 9(8), 1399-1399.

Conference proceedings papers

Meng F, McKechnie J & Pickering SJ (2017) Towards a circular economy for end-of-life carbon fibre composite materials via fluidised bed process. ICCM International Conferences on Composite Materials, Vol. 2017-August
Pickering SJ, Turner TA, Meng F, Morris CN, Heil JP, Wong KH & Melendi S (2015) Developments in the fluidised bed process for fibre recovery from thermoset composites. CAMX 2015 - Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (pp 2384-2394)

Preprints

Meng F, Wagner A, B. Kremer A, Kanazawa D, J. Leung J, Goult P, Guan M, Herrmann S, Speelman E, Sauter P , Lingeswaran S et al (2022) Planet compatible pathways for transitioning the chemical industry, American Chemical Society (ACS).
Meng F, Wagner A, B. Kremer A, Kanazawa D, J. Leung J, Goult P, Guan M, Herrmann S, Speelman E, Sauter P , Lingeswaran S et al (2022) Planet compatible pathways for transitioning the chemical industry, American Chemical Society (ACS).

Grants

The Royal Society International Exchanges Scheme – Cost Share Programme 2021, Multi-scale simulation of the interaction between climate change and road asphalt concrete material recycling system.
Life cycle assessment and technoeconomic analysis for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Wilson Biochemicals Ltd.
Saudi Aramco, Impacts of life cycle-based regulations on light-duty fleet GHG emissions

Teaching activities

CPE180 Heat transfer
CPE465/CPE61012 Energy systems and management
MAT1920 Sustainability and the Materials Lifecycle

Professional activities and memberships

Associate Editor, Journal of Cleaner Production
Editor, Resources, Conservation & Recycling Advances
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Member, EPSRC ECR Forum (Manufacturing and the Circular Economy Research)
Member, International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE)
Member, Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE)
Member, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)
Member, The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
Member, Royal Society of Chemistry