prof.dr.ir. L. Lefferts (Leon)

Leon Lefferts (1960) was born in Enschede and visited the Jacobus College, receiving the Atheneum diploma in 1978. He was trained as a chemical engineer at the University of Twente (1983) and received his PhD in 1987 also at the University of Twente. He continued to specialize on heterogeneous catalysis and joined the DSM Research laboratories (1987-1999), working on catalyst characterization, hydrogenation, slurry phase catalysis, carbon supported metals and kinetics. He acted as research scientist, project leader as well as senior scientist. In this 12 years period the emphasis on output was clearly on proprietary knowledge rather than on publications. He founded Eurokin in 1999, a consortium of companies and universities addressing challenges in the field of kinetics, that is successfully operating since then.

He was appointed full professor “Catalytic Processes and Materials” (CPM) at the University of Twente in 1999. He has been visiting professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2005-2007. He was appointed as Finnish Distinguished Professor in 2011-2015, and continued as a visiting professor at Aalto University in Helsinki till 2019. He acted as director of the research institute IMPACT (2010-2011) and the Green Energy Initiative (2013-2015) within the University of Twente. He supervised 32 PhD students, of which 25 graduated.

His research interests include biofeed conversion, including catalytic upgrading of flash pyrolysis oil as well as APR (Aqueous Phase Reforming). A second theme is heterogeneous catalysts in liquid phase, motivated on both technological challenges, striving for minimization of concentration gradient in porous catalyst particles, as well as fundamental challenges, developing new experimental techniques for studying the catalyst surface in contact with liquid reactant mixtures and solutions. A recnt new topic in the filed is the influence of formation of bubbles on transport in catalyst particles. The third theme is activation of stable molecules. This work is exploring breakthrough technologies for activation of alkanes, CO₂, CH₄ and H₂O, e.g. via using soft oxidants, non-redox catalysts at high temperatures, electrical fields or plasma-catalysis. Furthermore, the use of water as a soft oxidant is of special interest and the role of oxide materials, e.g. zirconia and ceria, for activation of water and CO₂ is subject of investigations.

Expertise

• Chemical Engineering

  • Hydrogen
  • Hydrogenation
  • Carbon Nanofibre
  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Methane
  • Ammonia

• Material Science

  • Carbon Nanofiber

• Chemistry

  • Catalyst

Organisations

Ancillary activities

• Aalto University School of Chemical EngineeringScientific Advisory Board
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)Strategic Advisory Board Energy

Leon Lefferts (1960) was trained as a chemical engineer at the University of Twente (1983) and received his PhD in 1987 also at the University of Twente. He continued to specialize on heterogeneous catalysis and joined the DSM Research laboratories (1987-1999), working on catalyst characterization, hydrogenation, slurry phase catalysis, carbon supported metals and kinetics. He acted as research scientist, project leader as well as senior scientist.

He was appointed full professor “Catalytic Processes and Materials” (CPM) at the University of Twente in 1999. He has been visiting professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2005-2007. He was appointed as Finnish Distinguished Professor in 2011-2015, and is continuing as a visiting professor at Aalto University in Helsinki till 2019.

Publications

Research profiles

Leon teaches, together with several collegues, the Kinetics and Catalysis course (BSc Chemical Science Engineering) as well as the Advanced Catalysis course and the Capita Selecta Course on Catalysis (MSc, Chemical Engineering).

Of course, guidance of final research assignment on BSc and MSc level is also offered.

Affiliated study programs

Courses academic year 2026/2027

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

Courses academic year 2025/2026

Address

University of Twente

Horst Complex (building no. 20), room ME357
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands

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Organisations