Research trends and perspectives on hydrothermal gasification in producing biofuels

Abstract

Several researchers around the world have been investigating the use of supercritical fluids incorporated into the process to create a method known as hydrothermal gasification (HTG). Thus, the present study aims to evaluate what has been produced regarding biofuels produced from HTG. A bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science (WoS) database was performed for articles published between 2006 and 2022. In the first analysis, 331 articles were identified, and refined analyses for 320 and 311 publications of the Web of Science Core Collection database (2006- 2022) were performed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Microsoft Excel. The year 2022 had the highest number of articles, with 54 publications, followed by 2021 and 2015 with 45 and 31 publications, respectively. The three journals with the most significant impact were Bioresource Technology, Algal Research: Biomass Biofuels And Bioproducts, and Biomass & Bioenergy, with TPs of 26, 18, and 17, respectively. China, the USA, and Canada represented 11.48%, 10.89%, and 7.52% of the total publications. Investments in research on supercritical fluids and carbonization should be more significant in countries that publish more. Much research still needs to be done for the advancement of the area, as evidenced by the low number of publications. Future studies should focus on related technologies such as liquefaction and pyrolysis.