ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH ON MICROPLASTICS IN WATER BODIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1681-2786.2025.4.15890Keywords:
bibliometric analysis; microplastics; network analysis; water bodies.Abstract
Purpose: to summarize the literature on the pollution of aquatic environments by “microplastics” with the aim of developing recommendations for researchers in this field to quickly understand the state of current research. Materials and methods: we used an analysis of articles published in key journals indexed in the Web of Science from 2011 to 2023, using CiteSpace and VOSviewer for data extraction and visualization. Results. Microplastics in water have become a significant public concern in recent years due to their potential negative impacts on human and animal health. The results show a notable increase in both the number of publications and citations since 2018. Initially, the UK was at the forefront of research in this field, with a publication share of 16.59 % from 2011 to 2017 and 4.37 % from 2018 to 2023. However, the share of publications in China increased from 10.31 to 40.45 %. The Marine Pollution Bulletin was not only one of the first to contribute to this field, but also holds the record for the largest number of published articles. Keyword analysis indicates research trends and hot topics. Recent research on microplastic removal methods has mainly focused on adsorption. Moreover, research focusing on microplastics in surface waters has also attracted considerable attention. A comprehensive review of existing research is provided. Recommendations for future directions of microplastic research are provided. Conclusіons. The analysis conducted identifies trends in microplastic research from the identification of microplastic contamination in water bodies through the assessment of its harmful effects to the development of removal methods.
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