Journal profile · Social Sciences-Education
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering
ISSN 1026-9185 · eISSN 2589-0344 · Elsevier · South Africa
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering: CAS Zone 3 · Engineering (2026 Xinrui edition); impact factor 6.3 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,350; review about 132 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 39% (journal website); 176 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering is published by Elsevier and is classed under Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal, Biodiesel Production and Applications and Nanofluid Flow and Heat Transfer, together about 26.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Biomedical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Publication of South African Institution of Chemical EngineersSouth African Journal of Chemical Engineering (SAJCE) is a fully open access title requiring authors to pay a publication fee once the paper has been accepted for publication. The journal aims to be the principal open access journal for publication of high quality, original papers in all areas of chemical engineering.The journal has a particular interest in publishing papers on the unique issues facing chemical engineering taking place in countries that are rich in resources but face specific technical and societal challenges, which require detailed knowledge of local conditions to address.Core topic areas are:Environmental process engineering• treatment and handling of waste and pollutants• the abatement of pollution, environmental process control• cleaner technologies• waste minimization• environmental chemical engineering• water treatmentReaction Engineering• modelling and simulation of reactors• transport phenomena within reacting systems• fluidization technology• reactor designSeparation technologies• classic separations• novel separationsProcess and materials synthesis• novel synthesis of materials or processes, including but not limited to nanotechnology, ceramics, etc.Metallurgical process engineering and coal technology• novel developments related to the minerals beneficiation industry• coal technologyChemical Process Engineering • Any other aspects not covered in the above-listed areas related to the chemical engineering discipline, such as process safety, thermodynamics and energy research, food engineering; bioprocess engineering; sustainability, etc.Chemical engineering education• guides to good practice• novel approaches to learning• education beyond university
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Education
Editor-in-chief Milan CarskyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named South Africa 15, India 9, United States 5, United Kingdom 2, Malaysia 2 (44 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removalEnvironmental Science12.5%
- Biodiesel Production and ApplicationsEngineering7.2%
- Nanofluid Flow and Heat TransferEngineering6.5%
- Membrane Separation TechnologiesEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Thermochemical Biomass Conversion ProcessesEngineering5.2%
- Catalysis and Hydrodesulfurization StudiesEngineering4.7%
- Nanomaterials for catalytic reactionsChemistry4.6%
- Nanoparticles: synthesis and applicationsMaterials Science4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Chemical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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 (publisher)
- 6.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 57OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 404OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.76OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.78%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 165LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,057 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 190 | 190 | 111 |
| 2025 | 176 | 176 | 599 |
| 2024 | 147 | 147 | 1,734 |
| 2023 | 126 | 126 | 2,019 |
| 2022 | 116 | 116 | 2,446 |
| 2021 | 68 | 68 | 1,436 |
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
132 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 33 weeks
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 33 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 39%Publisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 132 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 21 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 1,350 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 950 / EUR 890 / GBP 760 / JPY 117,830 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 880 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 1,350 | — | — |
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 papers1, by deadline
- CHISA 2026Deadline
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 1
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Not considered
- preprint
Article types accepted7
- chemical engineering educationChemical engineering education • guides to good practice • novel approaches to learning • education beyond universityLength not stated
- chemical process engineeringChemical Process Engineering • Any other aspects not covered in the above-listed areas related to the chemical engineering discipline, such as process safety, t…Length not stated
- environmental process engineeringEnvironmental process engineering • treatment and handling of waste and pollutants • the abatement of pollution, environmental process control • cleaner technol…Length not stated
- metallurgical process engineering and coal technologyMetallurgical process engineering and coal technology • novel developments related to the minerals beneficiation industry • coal technologyLength not stated
- process and materials synthesisProcess and materials synthesis • novel synthesis of materials or processes, including but not limited to nanotechnology, ceramics, etc.Length not stated
- reaction engineeringReaction Engineering • modelling and simulation of reactors • transport phenomena within reacting systems • fluidization technology • reactor designLength not stated
- separation technologiesSeparation technologies • classic separations • novel separationsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, 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 ·- Publication ethics
publishing ethics policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
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 sharing Model summary
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.
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
- South Africa
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1026-9185
- Electronic ISSN
- 2589-0344
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about South African Journal of Chemical Engineering
What CAS zone is South African Journal of Chemical Engineering in?
In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of South African Journal of Chemical Engineering?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 6.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 10.4, h-index 57.
How long does peer review take at South African Journal of Chemical Engineering?
The publisher reports about 132 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 33 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 39%. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of South African Journal of Chemical Engineering?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 1; Reference style: Author–date; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of South African Journal of Chemical Engineering based?
Of the 44 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (15), India (9) and United States (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index South African Journal of Chemical Engineering?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, South African Journal of Chemical Engineering is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is South African Journal of Chemical Engineering open access, and what is the APC?
South African Journal of Chemical Engineering is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,350.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .