Bibliometric Analysis on the Use of Natural Coagulants in the Treatment of Water for Human Use

Abstract

Coagulation tends to be one of the most widely used techniques in the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater and drinking water; however, its high cost and acquisition tend to be a disadvantage. The present investigation carried out a bibliometric analysis of reference to the use of coagulants of natural origin for the treatment of water for human consumption. For the bibliographic analysis, we worked with the Scopus and Web of Science databases, considering articles and reviews published in the period from January 2011 to September 2021. The co-occurrence and co-citation maps were carried out using the use of VOSviewer software. As a result, 678 investigations were obtained for Scopus and 1273 for Web of Science. For both databases, the subject area with the highest number of publications was “environmental science”, and the country with the highest number of publications on naturally occurring coagulants in Scopus was India and in the web of Science China. In addition, it was identified that coagulation and flocculation were the most used technologies for water treatment, with Moringa Oleifera being the natural coagulant with the highest efficiency and with the most studies. Finally, it is concluded that the use of natural coagulants is favorable since they have a low cost and are friendly to the environment.