Journal profile · Engineering, Chemical
Separation and Purification Technology
ISSN 1383-5866 · eISSN 1873-3794 · Elsevier · NETHERLANDS · Semi-monthly · Founded 1997
Separation and Purification Technology: CAS Zone 2 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 9.06; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,060; review about 61 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 4,881 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Separation and Purification Technology is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 2 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Membrane Separation Technologies, Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques and Extraction and Separation Processes, together about 29.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Water Science and Technology and Mechanical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Separation and Purification Technology is a journal dedicated to the dissemination of novel methods for separation and purification in chemical and environmental engineering for homogeneous solutions and heterogeneous mixtures. This includes any separation and/or purification of liquids, vapors and gases, resource recycling, purification of biobased feedstocks/products, carbon capture and separation, with the exception of methods intended for analytical purposes. The journal welcomes contributions related to bioseparations in biotechnology, pharmaceutical production, food processing, and environmental applications. Soil science, polymer science and metallurgy are outside the scope of the journal. The Official Journal of the American Filtration and Separations Society.Contributions should be always related to new or improved separation methods or principles; applications are welcome provided that they are not a direct implementation of known separation methods.Separation and Purification Technology welcomes contributions focused on experimental studies and theoretical analyses of phenomena associated with and arising from separation and purification as well as process development and simulation, equipment design and fabrication. Preparation and modification of materials used in separation and/or purification operations can be considered if the intended separation and/or purification is an essential part of the work rather than a tool for characterization of a material. Such new materials should allow for separations that cannot be achieved with existing materials; alternative materials for e.g., adsorption are not sufficiently novel. Simulation studies are welcome, but should be accompanied by experimental verification. In view of ethical concerns regarding the detrimental impacts of fluorinated compounds, studies relying fully or in part on materials such as PVDF or PTFE are limited to the environmental impacts of PVDF-based materials used in separations and on possible environmentally-friendly alternatives. Research on fossil fuels is limited to studies not aiming at enhanced exploitation of fossil reserves. Manuscripts should be of global significance; studies addressing a local, national or regional challenge will not be accepted. The global relevance should be clearly explained in the manuscript.Review papers should be written by an author with proven expertise in the field, and provide a critical assessment of the state-of-the-art in a specific topic related to novel approaches in separation and purification.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Chemical
Editor-in-chief Bart Van der BruggenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 39 in mainland China (about 32%); most named Mainland China 39, Spain 11, Portugal 10, United States 9, United Kingdom 4 (121 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Membrane Separation TechnologiesEnvironmental Science12.1%
- Advanced Photocatalysis TechniquesEnergy9%
- Extraction and Separation ProcessesEngineering8.1%
- Advanced oxidation water treatmentEnvironmental Science6.9%
- Membrane Separation and Gas TransportEngineering6.6%
- Membrane-based Ion Separation TechniquesEngineering6.1%
- Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removalEnvironmental Science4.8%
- Covalent Organic Framework ApplicationsMaterials Science4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Chemical | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Chemical | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Engineering, Chemical | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 9.06LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 14.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 14.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.56LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- h-index
- 144LetPub ·
- h-index
- 236OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 20,717OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 9.72OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 9.51%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 4,680LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 31,894 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3,235 | 531 | 3,451 |
| 2025 | 4,881 | 605 | 35,523 |
| 2024 | 4,832 | 691 | 86,818 |
| 2023 | 2,899 | 414 | 78,888 |
| 2022 | 2,443 | 275 | 91,447 |
| 2021 | 1,938 | 238 | 81,828 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
61 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 4.1 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 4.1 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 76%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,060 / EUR 3,800 / GBP 3,250 / JPY 503,560 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,230 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers7, by deadline
- Inorganic Membranes Today & Keys for Tomorrow - Special Issue of the 18th International Conference on Inorganic Membranes - ICIM 2026Deadline
- Innovative Separation and Purification for the Valorization of Gasifier Effluent Streams with Focus on Product Development and ApplicationDeadline
- Synergistic Innovations in Separation and Purification Technologies: Collaborative Research between Europe and ChinaDeadline
- The 3rd International Congress on Separation and Purification Technology (ISPT 2026)Deadline
- Advanced Separation Engineering and Process Intensification for Sustainable Carbon CaptureDeadline
- Advanced Separation and Purification Technologies for BiomanufacturingDeadline
- Advances in Biopartitioning, Purification and Sustainable Bioprocessing: Selected Contributions from BPP 2026Deadline
Article types accepted4
- full length articleWe welcome the following article types: Full Length Article, Review article, Perspective and Letter to the Editor.Length not stated
- letter to the editorWe welcome the following article types: Full Length Article, Review article, Perspective and Letter to the Editor.Length not stated
- perspectiveWe welcome the following article types: Full Length Article, Review article, Perspective and Letter to the Editor.Length not stated
- review articleWe welcome the following article types: Full Length Article, Review article, Perspective and Letter to the Editor.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semi-monthly
- Founded
- 1997
- ISSN
- 1383-5866
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-3794
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Separation and Purification Technology
What CAS zone is Separation and Purification Technology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Separation and Purification Technology is in Zone 2 of Engineering, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Engineering, Chemical; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Separation and Purification Technology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9.06; CiteScore 14.3, h-index 236.
How long does peer review take at Separation and Purification Technology?
The publisher reports about 61 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 4.1 months. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Separation and Purification Technology based?
Of the 121 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 39 (about 32%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (39), Spain (11) and Portugal (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Separation and Purification Technology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Separation and Purification Technology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Separation and Purification Technology open access, and what is the APC?
Separation and Purification Technology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,060.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .