Past, Present, and Future of Groundwater Remediation Research: A Scientometric Analysis

Abstract

In this study, we characterize the body of knowledge of groundwater remediation from 1950 to 2018 by employing scientometric techniques and CiteSpace software, based on the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) databases. The results indicate that the United States and China contributed 56.4% of the total publications and were the major powers in groundwater remediation research. In addition, the United States, Canada, and China have considerable capabilities and expertise in groundwater remediation research. Groundwater remediation research is a multidisciplinary field, covering water resources, environmental sciences and ecology, environmental sciences, and engineering, among other fields. Journals such as Environmental Science and Technology, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, and Water Research were the major sources of cited works. The research fronts of groundwater remediation were transitioning from the pump-and-treat method to permeable reactive barriers and nanoscale zero‑valent iron particles. The combination of new persulfate ion‑activation technology and nanotechnology is receiving much attention. Based on the visualized networks, the intelligence base was verified using a variety of metrics. Through landscape portrayal and developmental trajectory identification of groundwater remediation research, this study provides insight into the characteristics of, and global trends in, groundwater remediation, which will facilitate the identification of future research directions.

Realizing the potential of metallic iron for environmental remediation: Flee or adapt?

“…In particular, Whitney [11] (4) To this point, the presentation demonstrates that the view that, under environmental conditions (pH > 4.5),…”

“…A survey of publication record on "groundwater remediation" [4] and " remediation using Fe 0 " [5] shows increasing publication numbers. This con rms the importance of the subject of study and its relevance to industrial technology, justifying a high level of research activities worldwide.…”

“…Fe 0 + RCl + H + ⇒ Fe 2+ + RH + Cl − (1) Any researcher familiar with the Fe 0 remediation technology will con rm that this is the state-of-the-art knowledge [4,5]. Any reader, interested in following the path of the paradigm from Reynolds et al [6] is encouraged to read Gillham [7].…”

“…In fact, Reynolds et al [6] fortuitously found that trichloroethylene disappeared in Fe 0 -based vessels. This is virtually considered as the starting point for the Fe 0 remediation technology which is now 30 years old and is widely recognized as a competent alternative for remediation of contaminated groundwater [4,5,7] and the provision of safe drinking water [8][9][10]. Here, we contrast this misconception to the fundamental science of aqueous iron corrosion (Fe 0 /H 2 O system).…”

Scientometric study of drinking water treatments technologies: Present and future challenges

“…Other scientometric studies were developed about the following themes: (a) groundwater remediation research (Chen et al, 2019), (b) authorship pattern of rain water harvesting research management publications (Pu & Raja, 2019), and (c) the role of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in wastewater treatment (Jiang et al, 2018). Chen et al (2019) studied groundwater research based on 2867 journal articles published from January 1950 to September 2018 from the Science Citation Index Expanded database with CiteSpace software.…”