Bibliometric analysis of global performance and trends of research on combined sewer overflows (CSOs) from 1990 to 2022

Abstract

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are one of the main sources of pollution in urban water systems and significantly impede the restoration of water body functionalities within urban rivers and lakes. To understand the research and frontier trends of CSOs comprehensively and systematically, a visual statistical analysis of the literature related to CSOs in the Web of Science core database from 1990 to 2022 was conducted using the bibliometric method using HistCite Pro and VOSviewer. The results reveal a total of 1,209 pertinent publications related to CSOs from 1990 to 2022, and the quantity of CSOs-related publications indicated an increasing trend. Investigations of the distribution and fate of typical pollutants in CSOs and their ecological effects on receiving waters and studies on pollution control technologies (source reduction, process control, and end-of-pipe treatment) are the current focus of CSOs research. CSOs pollution control technologies based on source reduction and the monitoring and control of emerging contaminants are at the forefront of scientific investigations on CSOs. This study systematically and comprehensively summarized current research topics and future research directions of CSOs, thus providing a reference for CSOs control and water environment management research. HIGHLIGHTS Literature on combined sewer overflows is mapped via bibliometrics for the first time.; A total of 1,209 articles were retrieved from Web of Science and used for analysis.; The research hotspots can be identified through keyword co-occurrences analysis.; Research gaps in combined sewer overflows research are successfully identified.; Technical obstacles and suggestions for further research were studied.;

Keywords

• bibliometric analysis
• combined sewer overflows (csos)
• pipeline
• storm runoff
• web of science core collection