Bibliometric analysis of research trends on the thermochemical conversion of plastics during 1990-2020

The aim of this bibliometric analysis was to evaluate the trends in literature and the impact of publications that have been published during the period 1990-2020, in the field of thermochemical conversion of plastics, namely gasification, liquefaction and pyrolysis. SCOPUS was used and data was vetted via MS Excel, with analysis being completed via MS Excel and VOSViewer. A total of 1705 publications were used in the study, and China was identified as the most productive country. Pyrolysis was the most researched technology with over 88% of publications, while liquefaction accounted for less than 3% of the total publications. Across all three technologies, polyethylene (PE) was the most commonly occurring type of plastic. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis had the highest number of publications and total citations. However, Energy Conversion and Management had a higher impact factor and higher average citations per publication. University of Alicante was identified as the most productive university with a total of 45 publications, while University of Leeds was the most commonly cited with an average of 65 citations per publication. The keyword analysis showed that copyrolysis with biomass and catalytic pyrolysis are gaining increased interests.

Automated summary

This bibliometric analysis revealed that China is the most productive country in the field of thermochemical conversion of plastics, with pyrolysis being the most researched technology and polyethylene being the most commonly occurring type of plastic. Keyword analysis indicated that copyrolysis with biomass and catalytic pyrolysis are gaining increasing interests.