Rui Shi
Research Summary
Shi's research interests lie primarily at the interface between basic research and the sustainability of engineered and natural systems. In particular, her research focuses on prioritizing research and development pathways of transportation fuels, bioproducts, agricultural systems and food-energy-water systems by linking the traditional engineering metrics with sustainability analyses. Her work leads to the development of a sustainable-design platform and system-level environmental-impact analysis frameworks. These frameworks navigate trade-offs across technical, environmental, and economic dimensions.
In the News
Research Keywords
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Projects
Recent Publications
Low-cost fat recovery from industrial ice cream waste: Separation mechanisms, process modeling, and techno-economic feasibility
Ale-Enriquez, F., Zaker Hosseiny, F., Xu, Z., Shi, R., Perry, B., Roberts, R. F. & Zhang, Y., Aug 2026, In: Cleaner Engineering and Technology. 33, 101270.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-economic Analysis for Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Carbonaceous Municipal Solid Waste with Variable Composition
Mahadevan Subramanya, S., Savage, P. E. & Shi, R., Jan 12 2026, In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. 14, 1, p. 57-71 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Carbon footprint analysis of waste plastic-to-fuel pyrolysis: implications of feedstock composition and processing conditions
Sakib, M. N. & Shi, R., Aug 2026, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 31, 8, 139.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Toward a circular plastic economy: A review of life cycle assessment studies on chemical recycling processes for fossil-based plastics
Sakib, M. N., Aigaje-Espinosa, E. K., Zaker Hosseiny, F. & Shi, R., Apr 15 2026, In: Journal of Environmental Management. 404, 129399.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Toward Sustainable Rare Earth Element Production: Key Challenges in Techno-Economic, Life Cycle, and Social Impact Assessment
Smerigan, A. & Shi, R., Feb 16 2026, In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering. 14, 6, p. 2733-2751 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
A Kinetic Model-Driven Techno-Economic Analysis of Plastic Pyrolysis: Linking Process Dynamics to Economic Viability
Zaker Hosseiny, F. & Shi, R., Jun 10 2026, In: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research. 65, 22, p. 11631-11641 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Upcycling of mixed polyolefin wastes to 3D structured carbon Joule heaters for decarbonized hydrogen production
Griffin, A., Wu, J., Smerigan, A., Smith, P., Adedigba, G., Shi, R., Xiang, Y. & Qiang, Z., Mar 5 2025, In: Materials Horizons. 12, 11, p. 3827-3840 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Advancing the Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Rare Earth Element Recovery from Phosphogypsum
Smerigan, A. & Shi, R., Sep 23 2025, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 59, 37, p. 19755-19767 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
X-ray absorption spectroscopy of lanmodulin-derived peptides bound to rare earth elements
Smerigan, A., Hoffman, A. S., Perez-Aguilar, J., Shi, R. & Bare, S. R., Nov 1 2025, In: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. 32, p. 1421-1430 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Techno-Economic Analysis of Polypropylene Recycling Through Catalytic Pyrolysis: FCC Catalysts in Batch Reactors
Zaker Hosseiny, F. & Shi, R., Jul 2025, In: Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing. 7, 3, e70016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Spatially Varying Costs of GHG Abatement with Alternative Cellulosic Feedstocks for Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Fan, X., Khanna, M., Lee, Y., Kent, J., Shi, R., Guest, J. S. & Lee, D. K., Jul 2 2024, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 58, 26, p. 11352-11362 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Upcycling plastic waste into fully recyclable composites through cold sintering
Lai, P. H., Hall, S. L., Lan, Y. C., Ai, J. R., Jaberi, A., Sheikhi, A., Shi, R., Vogt, B. D. & Gomez, E. D., Mar 5 2024, In: Materials Horizons. 11, 11, p. 2718-2728 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Cold Sintering Enables the Reprocessing of LLZO-Based Composites
Lan, Y. C., Ghasemi, M., Hall, S. L., Fair, R. A., Maranas, C., Shi, R. & Gomez, E. D., Jul 8 2024, In: ChemSusChem. 17, 13, e202301920.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Quantifying uncertainties in greenhouse gas savings and abatement costs with cellulosic biofuels
Lee, Y., Khanna, M., Chen, L., Shi, R., Guest, J., Blanc-Betes, E., Jiang, C., Guan, K., Hudiburg, T. & De Lucia, E. H., Dec 1 2023, In: European Review of Agricultural Economics. 50, 5, p. 1659-1684 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Quantitative sustainable design (QSD) for the prioritization of research, development, and deployment of technologies: a tutorial and review
Li, Y., Trimmer, J. T., Hand, S., Zhang, X., Chambers, K. G., Lohman, H. A. C., Shi, R., Byrne, D. M., Cook, S. M. & Guest, J. S., Sep 30 2022, In: Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology. 8, 11, p. 2439-2465 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
