Global trends and future prospects of food waste research: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The unregulated discharge reams of food waste (FW) causes severe resource loss and environmental pollution. In the present study, a bibliometric analysis was used for research activities and tendencies of food waste from 1991 to 2015. The results indicated that the amount of FW research continually grew by the years, and the number of publications rose significantly from 2012. Bioresource Technology and Waste Management were the two most frequently published journals in the field of FW research. China took a leading position and had a high h-index (38) out of 94 countries/territories, followed by the USA and South Korea. Presently, anaerobic digestion for methane and dark fermentation for hydrogen production are the mainstream techniques in FW disposal. Lactic and ethanol fermentation from FW received more and more attention in recent years. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was an ever-increasingly popular evaluation method for FW-related research. Moreover, cluster analysis indicated microbial community structure, food security, leachate, and pathogens were also the research hotspots.