Orcid number: 0000-0001-9528-6440

Research interest: My aim is to understand the reactivity of complex chemical systems: develop robust and reliable kinetic models in different thermal modes. We are using different calorimeters (RC1, C80, ARSST, etc), process intensification systems (micro-reactor, microwave irradiation) and statistical methods (Bayesian inferences, cross-validation, etc).

We have developed original approaches based on structure-reactivity and non-isothermal mode to develop robust and reliable kinetic models.

The following research activities are investigated:

• Risk assessment for the valorization of biomass processes

•  Kinetic modeling of complex reaction system

• Microwave irradiation for the valorization of vegetable oil

• Microreactor for the valorization of 2nd generation biomass

• Structure-reactivity

Supervision: 3 post-doctoral theses,, 19 doctoral theses (15 defended), 25 master theses, 25 bachelor theses 

Scientific communication: 121 articles, 1 book chapter, 1 Plenary lecture, 10 keynote lectures, 82 oral and 45 poster presentations in international symposium and one popular science article.

Metrics: Total citation: 2500 and H-index: 30 (Scopus January 2025)

Projects before my academic career at IRCELYON

October 2023-October 2025: Chaire France-Italy on process safety and biomass valorization. PI of the chaire Sébastien Leveneur and Valerio Cozzani (University of Bologna).

Objectives: -Engage students to develop processes by considering the  innovative tetraptic Society-Industrial Risk-Environmental impact-Cost evaluation.

-Strengthen the Bologna Rouen axis in the field of process safety, and put the basis for an international master such as Erasmus Mundus

-Integrate and provide advanced courses for master and PhD students in the field of reactor and risk modeling (20 hours for me per year)

-Develop a decision tool based on cost evaluation, technological risk, environmental assessment and “citizen engagement”. 

Total budget : 30 k€ & Responsibility: Principal investigator.

2022-2024: Funcap project (French Brasilian project) sustainable use of biomass from vegetable species in the production of biodiesel, biolubricants and synthesis of nanostructured additives. Project lead by the Brazilian professor Nágila Maria Pontes Silva Ricardo (Fortaleza university) and Sébastien Leveneur (INSA Rouen).

Objective: The present project aims at the responsible and sustainable use of biomass from some species of oilseed plants in the synthesis of biodiesel and biolubricants, in addition to the synthesis of nanostructured additives that can improve the performance and efficiency of synthesized biodiesels and biolubricants. Thus, the present research project has at its core, technological and innovative potential, which, associated with respect for the environment, will contribute to the sustainable development of new products and green inputs for the energy field, in addition to collaborating with the technical development of the members. performers.

Responsibility: Principal investigator from French side.

January 2023-December 2024: Inherent safety study for hydrogenation of gamma valerolactone in biorefinery process, a collaboration

National Foreign Experiment for Nanjung Tech Univerisity (China), sponsored by Ministry of Science and Technology of China

Total budget 160 000 RMB (21 k€)

Objective: I was nominated as expert to develop kinetic models and collaborate with Prof Yong PAN and Assistant-Professor Yanjun WANG.

February 2022-February 2025: Rouen’s project PROMETEE (Processes to valoRize nOrman bioMass from renEwable energies: ciTizen sciencE and process safEty) (Procédés de valoRisation de la biOmasse norMande par les Energies renouvelables : science participative et sécuriTE des procEdés). Consortium: Aoues’s team (INSA Rouen) for the mechanical and civil engineering part, Liano’s team (Rouen university) for the citizen science part and Leveneur’s team for process safety.  (Total budget : 220 k€).

Objectives: develop several chemical processes for the valorization of biomass, develop a probabilistic methodology to consider the new risk linked to these processes, evaluate the environmental impact of these processes and to develop a methodology to integrate citizen in the co-construction of these processes.

Responsibility: Principal investigator.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/prometee-coop%25C3%25A9ration-entre-sciences-sociales-et-de-pour-leveneur

December 2021-December 2024: Normandy’s region project ARBRE (Risk Analysis to processes valorizing 2^nd generation biomass and using Renewable energies. Evaluated by French National Agency (ANR) and Normandy Continuum Earth See (CTM) and funder by Normandy’s region. Consortium: Aoues’s team (INSA Rouen) for the mechanical and civil engineering part, Diarrassouba’s team (Le Havre university) for the logistic study (biomass transportation), Lefebvre’s team (Le Havre university) for the prognostic and detection study, Maugé’s team (CNRS Caen) for the catalyst development, Aubert’s team (Rouen university) for the ecology impact and Leveneur’s team for process safety.  (Total budget : 574 k€)

Objectives: The ARBRE project aims to develop a process for the valorization of Normandy's lignocellulosic biomass (e.g. dedicated cultivation such as beech or agricultural waste such as flax shives) by using green hydrogen obtained from wind energy. The chemical process studied will be the Reductive Catalytic Fractionation (RCF) process of lignocellulosic biomass.

Responsibility: Principal investigator.

January 2022-November 2022: French embassy project with Indonesia POTION (Production sûr de biOcarburant aviatTION : une approche expérimentale et théorique). Collaboration with Dr. Mohammad Kemal Agusta CMD-QE Bandung Institute of Technology for DFT calculation (Total budget 3.5k€).

Responsibility: Principal investigator.

February 2021-April 2024: ANR-DFG project MUST: MicroflUidics for Structure-reactivity relationships aided by Thermodynamics & kinetics. Collaboration project with Julien Legros (COBRA, Université de Rouen) for the use of microreactor, Christoph Held for the development of thermodynamic model via ePC-SAFT (Dortmund TU, Germany) and Sébastien Leveneur for the development of kinetic models. Total budget: 600k€ including 3 PhD salaries.

ANR-20-CE92-0002; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 446436621

Objectives: The relationships between the structure of chemicals (reactants or products) and their reactivity (kinetics and thermodynamics) is a research area that crosslinks thermodynamics, kinetics, organic chemistry and chemical engineering. This project will investigate this research area by German and French specialists. The concept of Linear Free Energy Relationships (LFER), including the Taft equation, is a powerful structure-reactivity tool that accounts for steric, polar and resonance effects on a series of chemical reactions. Taft equation shows that there is a relationship between the structure of reactants (i.e., the substituent near to the reaction center) and their reactivities within a reaction series. It is state-of-the-art to apply this to chemical reactions (e.g. esterification), and it is claimed that the developed parameters are valid independent of the reaction conditions. However, mainly esterification and hydrolysis reactions were used in one kind of solvent, which in principle limits the general validity of the relationships. Thus, generalizing LFER concepts to vast number of solvents or solvent mixtures and even to multiphase reaction systems requires intrinsic kinetic profiles in the absence of concentration and temperature gradients, expressed in terms of thermodynamic activities. This will be developed in this project.

Responsibility: Principal investigator.

February 2021-February 2024: coordinator of the SMART-ER (ECIU European university, H2020) for INSA group (7 INSA in France). I represent INSA group, promote and communicate on this research project (budget 175 k€ 3 years).

2020-2021: PHC Balaton ”Numerical methods for the optimization and safe production of non-isocyanate polymers” with the Institute of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Pannonia (Hungary). (Total budget 10k€)

Responsibility: Principal investigator for the French side.

September 2021: Selected to Maupertuis Researcher Mobility to Åbo Akademi University, funded by Finnish French Embassy and Societas (Scholarship of 1 k€).

2019-2020: PHC Proteus ”Process intensification in the production of 2^nd generation platform molecules” with the Microprocess Engineering Research Group, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). (Total budget 10k€)

Responsibility: Principal investigator for the French side.

2016-2017: PHC Galileo ”Emergency response in second generation biomass valorization processes” in collaboration with the laboratory of Industrial Safety and Environmental Sustainability, Bologna University (Italy). (Total budget 15 k€)

Responsibility: Principal investigator for the French side. 

Bilateral funding program for scientific cooperation between France and Finland project. “Biomass Valorization-Process Intensification-Risk assessment” (Total budget 15k€; 40 researchers)

Collaboration: LSPC (Rouen), LRGP (Nancy), Lappeenranta university (Finland), Åbo Akademi (Finland), IFPen and VTT

Goal: Organization of a workshop 10-12^th of September 2017

Responsibility:  Principal investigator for the French side.