Chemical Engineering Journal

An International Journal of Research and Development

The Chemical Engineering Journal (CEJ) is an international, peer-reviewed research journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, original, and novel contributions across all areas of chemical engineering. The journal provides a forum for fundamental research, interpretative reviews, and discussions of emerging developments in chemical engineering. CEJ encourages manuscripts that describe new theories and their practical applications, as well as studies demonstrating the transfer of techniques from other disciplines. Experimental studies must be carefully executed and soundly interpreted, while theoretical and computational work is welcomed if it provides novel insights or predictive capabilities. The journal emphasizes original, rigorous research with broad relevance and impact.

CEJ’s scope is organized into eight main sections, each addressing a specific domain of chemical engineering:

1. Applied Biomaterials & Biotechnologies

This section considers studies on the development of new functional biomaterials, biomanufacturing strategies, and/or biotechnologies with demonstrated practical applications. While theoretical calculations may be included, an experimental component is required. In vivo proof-of-concept demonstrations are typically expected for new biomaterials-related papers, although advanced cell/tissue models for validation of new materials or processes may also be considered. Specific topics of interest within this section include:

• Biosensors for disease diagnosis (including new nanomaterials, materials interfaces, structured materials, or cell-based assays enabling sensing via electrochemical, optical, fluorescence, or other sensing mechanisms as demonstrated in a practical biological fluid), excluding the development of small molecule probes.

• Biological imaging materials (including new materials for enhancing contrast in new or emerging diagnostic imaging strategies).

• Drug and gene delivery vehicles (including new particle, hydrogel, implant, microneedle, or other material technologies for delivering small molecule, protein, genetic, or other bioactives),

  excluding the development of small molecule therapeutics.

• Nanomedicine (including photodynamic/photothermal materials, immunotherapeutics, responsive nanomaterials, and cell-mimetic nanomaterials).

• Tissue engineering and regenerative materials (including new materials, materials coatings, or materials processing techniques for improving functional tissue reconstruction/repair).

• Wound healing (including hydrogels, structured polymers, and other materials that accelerate wound closure/functional repair and/or avoid wound complications).

• Anti-pathogen materials and coatings (including implants, surfaces, nanoparticles, and other materials for preventing disease transmission).

• Agrochemical delivery vehicles (including micro/nanomaterials and materials addressing challenges with both foliar and soil-based administration routes).

• Materials for enhancing agricultural outputs (including soil conditioners, renewable mulch films or other protective materials, and cellular/soilless agriculture/food production).

• Advanced in vitro models of human tissues for improved predictive screening of biomaterials (including lab-on-a-chip technologies, materials for organoid/microtissue development, and high-throughput biomaterials screening technologies).

• Applied genetic engineering (including applications of CRISPR and other genome-editing technologies, design and construction of synthetic genes, and genetic/metabolic engineering of microorganisms or plants).

• Artificial intelligence/machine learning in biology(including for accelerating biomaterials discovery, enabling genetic/metabolic engineering, and improving in vitro/in vivo performance correlations).

• Advanced biomanufacturing technologies (including supporting materials for cell manufacturing, strategies for improved vaccine, antibody, and/or enzyme production, and scalable bioprocess development and validation).

• Packaging and storage materials for food preservation/storage (including films, sprayable materials, foams, or cold storage-enabling materials).

2. Catalysis

The section seeks contributions in heterogeneous, molecular, and biocatalysis that demonstrate a clear pathway to industrial impact across the chemical, energy, healthcare, and environmental sectors. We prioritize work that transcends "site-only" chemistry, focusing on the Catalyst-in-Process:

• Catalytic Science and Phenomena: Fundamental studies investigating the multiscale coupling of molecular kinetics with interfacial transport, aiming to resolve the physicochemical principles that govern active site productivity and selectivity.

• Dynamic & Operando Engineering: Investigations into catalyst behaviour under transient conditions, non-steady state operations, and real-world industrial feedstocks;

• Scalable Architecture: Novel catalyst structures (monoliths, membranes, 3D-printed lattices) that enable process intensification or new reactor geometries.

• Sustainable Catalysis & Circularity: Fundamental studies focused on engineering robust catalytic systems for high-stability performance in industrial environments, integrating multiscale phenomena with Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) or Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to establish the scientific and economic viability of decarbonized chemical routes.

3. Computational Chemical Engineering

This section focuses on innovative development and/or applications of computational approaches, including:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

• Quantum mechanics (QM) and molecular modeling and simulation (MMS).

• Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Computational research should be the primary focus, with experimental validation if necessary. Also, since our section deals with all topics of chemical and biological engineering, aims and scope from other sections about computational and theoretical works are abided in this section. Topics in this section include, but are not limited to, the following:

• New AI/ML/computational algorithms/methods applicable to chemical and biological engineering.

• New discovery of materials with clear understanding of molecular phenomena by AI or computational methods.

• AI-guided development of chemical process and optimization.

• AI/ML/computational methods for critical energy saving and sustainable environment.

4. Energy Materials & Devices

This section publishes high-quality research on the design, synthesis, characterization, and engineering of advanced materials and devices for energy conversion, storage, transport, and management. Emphasis is placed on innovative materials and integrated device architectures that enable next-generation energy technologies with improved efficiency, durability, scalability, and sustainability. Theoretical calculations are welcome; however, all submissions must include an experimental component. Particular focus is given to research that links materials development with device-level performance, process integration, and engineering applications. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Energy Conversion Materials

• Materials for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical fuel production via water splitting, nitrogen fixation, CO2

  reduction, and related processes, including solar-driven synthesis of liquid fuels and hydrogen carriers.

• Materials for electrocatalytic reactions, including the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR).

• Triboelectric and piezoelectric nanogenerators (TENG, PENG).

• Materials enabling electrochemical and thermochemical energy conversion processes.

Solar Energy Materials

• Materials for photovoltaic devices, including dye-sensitized solar cells, perovskite solar cells, organic solar cells, and hybrid photovoltaic technologies.

• Materials for light harvesting, charge transport, and stability enhancement in photovoltaic devices.

Energy Storage Materials

• Materials for electrochemical energy storage systems, including primary and secondary batteries, solid-state batteries, flow batteries, supercapacitors, and dielectric capacitors.

• Materials for thermal, thermochemical, and mechanical energy storage and conversion, including phase-change materials, thermoelectric materials, heat storage systems, and engine-assisted energy conversion.

• Materials for hydrogen storage and other chemical energy carriers.

Energy Devices and Systems

In addition to materials development, this section encourages research addressing the engineering, design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of energy devices, including but not limited to:

• Electrochemical energy conversion devices, such as fuel cells, electrolyzers, and electrochemical reactors.

• Photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical devices.

• Batteries, supercapacitors, and hybrid energy storage systems.

• Flow battery systems and electrochemical energy storage modules.

• Thermoelectric and thermochemical energy conversion devices, including engines for mechanical and electrical energy generation.

• Solar fuel generation systems.

• Integrated catalytic and electrochemical reactors for energy conversion.

• Hydrogen production, storage, and utilization devices.

• Hybrid or multifunctional energy systems, combining multiple energy conversion or storage mechanisms, including engine-assisted systems for heat and power generation.

Research addressing device architecture, system integration, performance optimization, durability, and scale-up is particularly welcome. Studies that bridge fundamental materials science with engineering design and device-level performance are strongly encouraged. Interdisciplinary contributions linking energy materials, reactor engineering, electrochemistry, catalysis, and process engineering are also within the scope of this section, provided the work demonstrates clear advances in energy-related materials or device technologies.

5. Engineered Materials

The Engineered Materials section aims to publish papers that combine novelty in materials design and/or processing toward a particular application goal, the practical demonstration of one or more applications of that material, and the demonstrated or feasible scalability/manufacturability of the material. Novelty in material design may include the design of new chemical entities and/or new artificial intelligence, machine learning, and/or statistical optimization approaches for informing material design. Theoretical calculations can be included, but all papers considered must have an experimental component. This section considers, but is not limited to:

• Materials for sensors (gas sensors, strain sensors, electrochemical sensors, optical sensors – biosensor-related papers should be submitted to the Applied Biomaterials & Biotechnologies section).

• Functional polymer composites (shape memory or self-healing materials with demonstrated applications, flame-retardant materials, adhesives, sustainable materials, thermal management materials, electromagnetic shielding materials).

• Functional surfaces (superhydrophobic/self-cleaning surfaces, anti-icing surfaces, anti-corrosion coatings).

• Light-emitting and light-manipulating materials (LEDs/OLEDs, photodetectors, optical thermometers, electrochromic materials).

6. Environmental Chemical Engineering

This section addresses emerging topics in environmental chemical and process engineering. Theoretical calculations can be included, but all papers considered must have an experimental component. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Biological, physico-chemical, and redox processes for soil, water, and air remediation.

• Endogenous resource recovery (water, nutrients, materials, energy).

• Water digitalization, water data science and machine learning.

7. Green and Sustainable Engineering

This section emphasizes innovative scientific and engineering solutions for the sustainable future of human beings and nature. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Emerging materials and processes for green conversion of resources (including oil, gas, coal, biomass/biosolids, plastics, and synthesis gas).

• Green processes and system integration for renewable and clean energy production (including biofuels and H2), advanced treatment of air/water/(bio)solids, resource recovery (including nutrients, heavy metals, rare earth elements, critical minerals, and energy), energy-food-water nexus, and minimization of environmental pollution and hazardous materials (including environmental and economic impact assessment).

• Innovative separation, purification, and storage technologies for renewable and clean energy, greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2 and CH4), and intermediates/by-products.

The GSSE section does NOT focus on traditional fabrication and modification (processes) of polymers (including membranes and porous materials), metal alloys, and construction materials. Papers pertaining to chemistry with lack of "innovative" engineering aspects, combustion and engines should be submitted to more specialized journals. Otherwise, they will be internally transferred to other journals more suited to their topic.

8. Reaction Engineering

The section welcomes manuscripts addressing reaction kinetics, simulation and optimization of different types of reactors, unsteady-state reactors, multiphase reactors, and process intensification including microreactors and microfluidic devices. This includes fundamental studies on heat, mass and momentum transfer that occur during chemical or biological reactions. Key areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Reactor engineering and design, including novel reactor configurations, advanced reactor materials, reactor safety considerations, and environmentally responsible reactor operation.

• Reaction kinetics and mechanistic studies linked to reactor performance and process optimization.

• Modeling, simulation, and optimization of chemical and biochemical reactors across multiple scales.

• Process intensification strategies involving novel reactor concepts or integration of reaction and separation processes.

• Transport phenomena in reacting systems, including coupling between reaction kinetics and heat, mass, or momentum transfer.

• Scale-up, process integration, and reactor system optimization.

The section particularly encourages submissions involving emerging reactor technologies, including but not limited to:

• Membrane reactors.

• Chromatographic reactors.

• Unconventional fluidized-bed reactors.

• Joule-heated reactors.

• Plasma reactors and plasma-assisted reaction systems.

• Microreactors and microfluidic devices, including optical or electrochemical microfluidic biosensing systems.

• Photoreactors.

• Enzymatic and biocatalytic reactors.

Please note significance and novelty of the work presented by the authors might fall in the interface with other sections of the journal and/or span across multiple current and emerging industrial and societal problems, such as (but not limited to) green energy storage and conversion, electrification of chemical reactors, hydrogen production, e-fuels, plastic waste upcycling, CO2 capture and conversion, nitrogen fixation, synthesis of functional materials, chemical looping, or microfluidics innovation. It is a peculiar feature of this section that submissions must have a significant focus on reaction engineering, including kinetics, transport phenomena, reactor/process analysis, design, and/or scale-up. Submissions that primarily address e.g., the functionality of materials without a focus on kinetics, transport, and process modelling and analysis; or computational modelling of processes; novel (bio)sensing devices without a component of reaction engineering; theoretical mathematics; combustion in the context of energy conversion; or straightforward bioengineering or biotechnological applications (bacteria or animal cells) will find a better fit in other sections and/or specialised journals.