Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering Department, Experimental Sciences Faculty, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Ctra. de Utrera km 1, 41013 Seville, Spain.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 6;18(17):9396. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179396.
"Ensure access to water for all", states Goal 6 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This worldwide challenge requires identifying the best water disinfection method for each scenario. Traditional methods have limitations, which include low effectiveness towards certain pathogens and the formation of disinfection byproducts. Solar-driven methods, such as solar water disinfection (SODIS) or solar photocatalysis, are novel, effective, and financially and environmentally sustainable alternatives. We have conducted a critical study of publications in the field of water disinfection using solar energy and, hereby, present the first bibliometric analysis of scientific literature from Elsevier's Scopus database within the last 20 years. Results show that in this area of growing interest USA, Spain, and China are the most productive countries in terms of publishing, yet Europe hosts the most highly recognized research groups, i.e., Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, and UK. We have also reviewed the journals in which researchers mostly publish and, using a systematic approach to determine the actual research trends and gaps, we have analyzed the capacity of these publications to answer key research questions, pinpointing six clusters of keywords in relation to the main research challenges, open areas, and new applications that lie ahead. Most publications focused on SODIS and photocatalytic nanomaterials, while a limited number focused on ensuring adequate water disinfection levels, testing regulated microbial indicators and emerging pathogens, and real-world applications, which include complex matrices, large scale processes, and exhaustive cost evaluation.
“确保人人享有水和环境卫生”是联合国可持续发展目标的目标 6 中提出的。这一全球性挑战需要确定针对每种情况的最佳水消毒方法。传统方法存在局限性，包括对某些病原体的低效率和消毒副产物的形成。太阳能驱动的方法，如太阳能水消毒（SODIS）或太阳能光催化，是新颖、有效、经济和环境可持续的替代方法。我们对利用太阳能进行水消毒的出版物进行了批判性研究，并在此基础上首次对过去 20 年来爱思唯尔 Scopus 数据库中科学文献进行了文献计量分析。结果表明，在这个日益受到关注的领域，美国、西班牙和中国在出版方面是最具生产力的国家，但欧洲拥有最受认可的研究团体，即西班牙、瑞士、爱尔兰和英国。我们还审查了研究人员主要发表论文的期刊，并采用系统的方法来确定实际的研究趋势和差距，分析这些出版物回答关键研究问题的能力，确定与主要研究挑战、开放领域和新应用相关的六个关键词群。大多数出版物侧重于 SODIS 和光催化纳米材料，而很少有出版物关注确保足够的水消毒水平、测试受监管的微生物指标和新兴病原体，以及实际应用，包括复杂基质、大规模过程和详尽的成本评估。
