Economic Assessment of Bio-oil Production from Algae: A Bibliometric Analysis

The production of bio-oil from microalgae is gaining attention as an alternative renewable energy source. To generate advances in this field, it is essential to identify the gaps in existing research. Overcoming this barrier necessitates addressing methodologies that can assess the existing work and develop relationships between publications, research groups, and their impact.

To chart a course toward practicality, this study employs bibliometric indicators, leveraging tools such as R Studio, VOSviewer 1.6.19, and Biblioshiny for network visualization and analysis. Drawing on the Scopus database spanning 2004-2024, a meticulous keyword strategy effectively segregated relevant papers.

The findings suggest that the total number of published documents is 1005. The publication trend on this topic shows a significant increase since 2008, with a record high of 107 publications in 2022. China dominates the publication list, with thirteen universities contributing the highest. In the context of algal bio-oil, a total of 2850 authors contributed to 1005 publications.

A three-way map displaying the relationships between journal titles, paper titles, and author keywords provides useful insights into the research landscape of the field. Algal research is growing and collaborating, despite bibliometric limitations such as time dependency and database scope. Such studies, however, offer valuable insights into the evolving bio-oil field.

The study aims to link sustainable economic development with technological innovation and related economic growth. Its objective is to provide researchers with information on niche research clusters, quantify emerging methodologies, facilitate collaborative networks, and identify knowledge gaps, while assisting in determining the impact of specific publication venues. In addition to analyzing key economic drivers, the study will also recommend prospective research themes to disseminate algae-based biooil production research.