Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment: A Scientometric Review of Research Trends

Abstract

In recent times, interest in decentralized sanitation alternatives, especially constructed wetlands (CWs), has spiked because of the need for wastewater treatment systems that allow effluent reuse, all in an effort to try and meet the rising demand for new water sources. Therefore, due to the increase in research in the subject area, the present study aimed to identify the research trends and prevailing themes in the existing literature on constructed wetlands as domestic wastewater treatment systems. A scientometric methodology was adopted in the study. The scientometric review was conducted using the VOSviewer and Citespace software. A total of 68 peer-reviewed journal articles were quantitatively analyzed using Various methods such as co-authorship analysis, co-citation analysis, and keyword analysis. Constructed wetlands were found to be very effective and efficient in pollutant removal, nutrient recycling, and water recycling through the identified clusters. The advancement and modification of CWs to make them better at treating new toxins was a welcome notion in the field. However, the lack of extensive collaboration among researchers needs to be improved for the betterment of the field through ideas and information exchange. The study was limited because it was conducted using the Scopus database and only focused on domestic wastewater. Therefore, future research can be centred around other types of wastewater using databases other than Scopus.