journal-of-membrane-science

Journal of Membrane Science (journal-of-membrane-science)

Journal positioning

Journal of Membrane Science (Elsevier) is the leading archival venue for **membranes

and membrane processes**: membrane materials and formation, the mechanisms of

transport and separation, separation performance, fouling, and applications in water,

gas, energy, and bio. Its defining expectation is that the **membrane and its

transport/separation mechanism are central** — a paper must explain how the membrane

structure governs permeation and selectivity, not merely report that a new membrane

separated something. Studies that use a commercial membrane as a black box to treat a

feed, or that report a permeance number without structure–transport understanding, are

a weak fit. This skill is a fit / venue-selection / re-framing tool. It does not

replace the journal's current official author guidelines. Before submitting, re-check

the live Journal of Membrane Science Guide for Authors on the Elsevier site.

When to trigger

• The author names Journal of Membrane Science for a membrane-material, transport,

separation, or fouling manuscript and wants a fit/framing check.

• A paper must be re-framed from "we used a membrane to separate X" into a

structure–transport–separation mechanism story.

• The author is deciding between this journal and an applied process venue

(chemical-engineering-journal) or a fundamentals venue (aiche-journal).

• The author needs the journal's transport-mechanism and characterization rigor bar

and desk-reject heuristics.

Scope & topic fit

• Membrane materials and formation: polymeric, inorganic, mixed-matrix, and composite

membranes; phase inversion, interfacial polymerization, and fabrication

structure–property control.

• Transport mechanisms: solution–diffusion, pore-flow, facilitated and ion transport;

the link between membrane structure/chemistry and permeability and selectivity.

• Separation performance and process: reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration,

gas separation, pervaporation, membrane distillation, electrodialysis.

• Fouling, wetting, aging, and long-term stability with mechanistic analysis and

mitigation strategies.

• Membranes for energy and bio applications (fuel-cell/electrolyzer/redox-flow

membranes, bioseparations) when the membrane transport science is central.

Method & evidence bar

• The central claim is a transport/separation mechanism: how membrane structure and

chemistry set permeability, selectivity, or fouling resistance — supported by data,

not asserted.

• Permeation and selectivity must be reported with the membrane thickness/area,

driving force, and conditions made explicit, and benchmarked against the relevant

trade-off (e.g., permeability–selectivity) and prior membranes.

• Membrane characterization must be appropriate and quantitative: morphology

(cross-section, surface), chemistry, porosity/free volume, and stability, with

sampling and reproducibility reported.

• Fouling/stability claims require realistic feeds and durations, with the fouling

mechanism analyzed rather than only a flux-decline curve shown.

• Performance must be compared to the correct membrane baseline under equivalent

conditions; normalized, reproducible metrics are expected.

Structure & house style

• Standard research-article structure (introduction, materials/methods, results,

discussion); the journal uses highlights and a graphical abstract — re-check current

article types and requirements on the live guide.

• The introduction frames the membrane/transport gap and the separation challenge; the

discussion makes the structure–transport–performance argument explicit.

• Figures are load-bearing: cross-section morphology, permeation/selectivity plots

against the relevant trade-off line, and fouling/stability data with controls.

• Supporting information carries full fabrication protocols, extended characterization,

and long-term data; main-text figures must support the transport claim on their own.

Official-submission checklist

• Before giving submission-ready advice, read ../../resources/source-basis.md and

../../resources/official-source-map.md; start from the Elsevier anchors, then cite

the current Journal of Membrane Science Guide for Authors page you checked.

• Search the live site for "Journal of Membrane Science guide for authors" and follow

the current Elsevier/Editorial Manager version.

• Re-check article types, highlights and graphical-abstract requirements, and

reporting conventions for permeation/selectivity (units, normalization).

• Confirm data-availability and any expectation to report membrane thickness, area, and

test conditions for reproducibility.

• Re-check competing-interests, funding, author-contribution (CRediT), and AI-use

disclosure requirements.

• If the live official instructions conflict with this skill, the official

instructions win.

Pre-submission self-check

• [ ] The membrane and its transport/separation mechanism are the central contribution, not a black-box separation result.
• [ ] Permeability/selectivity are reported with thickness, area, driving force, and conditions, and benchmarked against the trade-off line.
• [ ] Membrane characterization (morphology, chemistry, porosity/stability) is quantitative and reproducible.
• [ ] Fouling/stability claims use realistic feeds and durations with the mechanism analyzed.
• [ ] Performance is compared to the correct prior membrane under equivalent conditions.
• [ ] Highlights and graphical abstract represent the transport/separation advance.

Common desk-reject triggers

• Using a commercial/black-box membrane to treat a feed with no membrane-science contribution.
• Permeance/flux numbers reported without thickness, area, conditions, or trade-off benchmarking.
• New membrane with a separation number but no structure–transport mechanism.
• Fouling shown only as a flux-decline curve, with no mechanism or realistic feed.
• Performance compared to a strawman or under non-equivalent conditions.
• Application/process paper where the membrane transport science is incidental.

Re-routing decision

• Applied water/energy process where the process, not the membrane, is the advance → chemical-engineering-journal.
• Fundamental transport/thermodynamics generalizing beyond membranes → aiche-journal.
• Systems-level energy/desalination assessment → applied-energy.
• Ion-exchange membranes framed as a battery/cell device advance → journal-of-power-sources.
• Water-treatment work with environmental-science framing → environmental-science-and-technology.

Output format

[Fit] High / Medium / Low (one-line reason)
[Target] Journal of Membrane Science
[Topic tags] <2–3 closest membrane subtopics>
[Mechanism] <the structure–transport–separation claim in one line>
[Performance] <permeability/selectivity vs trade-off + conditions stated?>
[Stability/fouling] <realistic-feed + mechanism evidence present?>
[Top risk] <the single most likely reason for rejection>
[Official items to re-check] <article type / highlights / units-normalization / data policy / disclosures>
[Re-route suggestion] <if not a fit, a better-matched venue>