Research progress, trends, and future prospects on hydrothermal liquefaction of algae for biocrude production: a bibliometric analysis.

Abstract

The rising demand to settle a sustainable energy source is guiding researchers in the production of biofuels. The liquefaction process is an alternative to obtaining biocrude from different types of renewable biomass and can mitigate environmental impacts. All papers published since 2000, which are related to the hydrothermal liquefaction process that aims to obtain biocrude are analyzed in the present study using the bibliometric approach to provide the selected database. Furthermore, the use of algae biomass in the liquefaction was also a discussed topic considering its high relevance in the process. The focus of the present study was to evaluate the evolution of the current state of the art in these topics and also to indicate trends and courses that it might be taken in the future. The database used in the bibliometric analysis was taken from the Web of Science (WoS) and the papers were selected by two different search equations. With the selected data, the use of BibExcel, VOSviewer, and PowerBi software was useful to guide the discussion and to create graphics and visual networks. As shown in the results, it was noticeable the influence of China and the USA on the field, considering the high number of publications from these countries. Moreover, the main authors were indicated considering their citation numbers, publications, and local h-index factor. Based on the author's keywords, the most significant and recent topics on liquefaction were listed. Among them, technical-economic analysis, nutrient, and energy recovery, response surface methodology, and kinetic model are highlighted. This may indicate a new direction being taken by researchers besides the operational parameters' studies.