Peer Review Process

The journal Membrane Science and Technology adopts a three-step review process based on peer review (preliminary review by an editor, external review by experts, and final review by the editor-in-chief). The editorial department decides whether to accept the submitted manuscript based on the opinions of peer reviewers, the experts in the relevant field, so as to ensure the academic quality of the journal. The information of authors and institutions will be deleted before the manuscript is sent for review, as double-blind review is used. The manuscript is processed in the following steps:

Review process

1.Receipt of manuscript: After receiving the submission, the submission system will automatically assign the manuscript number according to the time order of the submission, and reply the author with the receipt of the manuscript and the manuscript number.

2.Preliminary review: The initial review editor downloads the manuscript and preliminarily checks whether the manuscript meets the submission requirements of the journal.The manuscript will be rejected or recommend to be submitted to another journal in the following cases. (1) The manuscript does not fit the aims and scope of the journal; (2) the manuscript is not innovative and is a duplication of previous work; (3) there have been similar papers with duplicate contents; (4) the manuscript has an unclear idea and is logically confusing and less readable; (5) the overall similarity of non-personal achievements exceeds 20% in Academic Misconduct Literature Check; (6) the experimental or theoretical research has obvious defects, the data are not detailed, and the tables and figures have obvious errors. 

3. External review: The editor will assign the manuscript for peer review to 2~3 experts which have no interest relationship and in the relevant research field. The experts will review the manuscript in terms of its academic level, novelty, scientificity, practicality, and readability. In principle, review should be finished within 15 days. A third reviewer will be invited if the first two reviewers have different opinions. The manuscript will be rejected if two reviewers suggest “rejection”. 

4.Final review by the Editor-in-Chief: The Editor-in-Chief decides whether to accept the manuscripts based on the opinions of the peer reviewers and revisions by the authors. The manuscript will be sent for peer review or revision again if needed. The manuscript will be sent for revision again if it needs to be modified.

Review results

1. Revision: The two reviewers both recommend publication after revision. 

2. Re-review: The editor makes a decision of revision according to the opinions of the peer reviewers and the regulations of the journal, and the manuscript needs to be re-reviewed after authors’ revision; the manuscript may be rejected if not meeting the requirements after revision. 

3. Rejection: The editor makes a decision of rejection according to the opinions of the reviewers and the regulations of the journal. The authors can appeal against the editorial decision.