Bioremediation of common high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a bibliometric analysis based on Web of Science via VOSviewer

Abstract

Abstract High-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAHs) are an important group of persistent organic pollutants. Bioremediation has emerged as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique to remediate HMW-PAH contamination. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer software on a dataset comprising 3009 relevant publications retrieved from the Web of Science database. Our analysis specifically focused on exploring the research landscape of bioremediation strategies for common HMW-PAHs, denoted as BC-HMW-PAHs. By employing cocitation analysis, co-occurrence analysis, and clustering analysis, we unveiled the knowledge foundation of BC-HMW-PAH bioremediation research, with notable contributions from renowned academic journals such as Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Chemosphere, and Environmental Science & Technology. The research in this field is interdisciplinary and includes the fields of environmental science, biotechnology, applied microbiology, microbiology, engineering, and toxicology. The key research themes identified encompass PAHs, biodegradation, benzo[a]pyrene, bioaugmentation, and degradation. Based on insights from our bibliometric analysis, we presented five research recommendations: in-depth exploration of degradation mechanisms for specific HMW-PAHs, thorough comprehension of microbial metabolic pathways, investigation into the toxicity and degradation products of HMW-PAHs, implementation of field experiments and scale-up applications, and establishment of long-term monitoring and assessment protocols.