The evaluation of the research on the biodiesel: a scientometric approach

Abstract

The present study explores the characteristics of the literature on the biodiesel published during the last three decades based on the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and its implications using the scientometric techniques. The results of this study reveal that the research output on the biodiesel and the citations received have grown exponentially during this period especially after 2004 with paralleling enormous changes in the research landscape. The US, China, and Brazil have been the three most prolific countries. The "USDA" has been the most prolific institution and "Demirbas A" of Turkey has been the most prolific author. "Bioresource Technology" has been the most prolific journal whilst, "Energy & Fuels" has been the most prolific subject area. "H-index" was 102 and Ma & Hanna [1] has had the highest impact on the literature. The scientometric analysis has a great potential to gain valuable insights into the evolution of the research on the biodiesel, complementing the scientometric studies in the other fields of the renewable energies such as biohydrogen, bioenergy, biofuels, and microbial fuel cells, providing a unique insight on the incentive structures for all the key stakeholders in the field.