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Review

Bibliometric Analysis of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Wastewater Treatment

by
Anathi Dambuza
1,
Pennie P. Mokolokolo
2,
Mamookho E. Makhatha
3 and
Motshabi A. Sibeko
1,*
1
Department of Chemistry, University of the Free State (QwaQwa Campus), Kestell Road, QwaQwa, Phuthaditjhaba 9866, South Africa
2
Department of Chemistry, Rhodes University, Prince Alfred Road, Makhanda 6139, South Africa
3
Department of Metallurgy, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, 55 Beit St, Doornfontein, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2026, 18(8), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080953
Submission received: 11 March 2026 / Revised: 8 April 2026 / Accepted: 10 April 2026 / Published: 14 April 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Eco-Efficient Polymer Systems: Green Synthesis and Adsorption Applications)
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Abstract

Biopolymer-based materials have gained significant attention as sustainable alternatives for wastewater treatment due to their biodegradability, low toxicity, and high adsorption potential. Despite extensive research on individual materials such as chitosan, cellulose, and alginate, a comprehensive synthesis of global research trends integrating multiple biopolymers remains limited. This study addresses this gap through a large-scale bibliometric analysis of 13,720 publications indexed in the Scopus database from 1995 to 2025. The dataset was systematically analysed using VOSviewer to evaluate publication trends, leading journals, countries, institutions, collaboration networks, and keyword co-occurrence patterns. The results reveal a rapid growth phase after 2016, driven by increasing global demand for sustainable water treatment technologies. China, India, and the United States emerged as the most productive and influential contributors. Keyword analysis highlights adsorption, wastewater treatment, cellulose, and chitosan as dominant research themes, with growing emphasis on composite materials and functional modifications. Beyond descriptive metrics, this study identifies key research gaps, including limited focus on scalability, regeneration efficiency, and real-world application of biopolymer-based systems. The findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolution and current direction of the field, offering strategic insights for future research and development of high-performance, sustainable wastewater treatment materials.

1. Introduction

The growing environmental and public health concerns caused by water pollution throughout the world have made research on biopolymer-based materials (e.g., chitosan, alginate, cellulose, agar, and starch) in wastewater treatment an essential field of study [1,2]. Over recent decades, the field has progressed from fundamental adsorption studies to sophisticated composite materials and nanotechnologies, reflecting a trajectory marked by growing research output and diversification of applications [3,4]. These biopolymers are intriguing options for sustainable water remediation because of their biodegradability, renewability, and functional versatility [5,6]. The global need to address contaminants such as heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceuticals, and emerging organic pollutants highlights the practical relevance of this study, with millions of litres of wastewater requiring effective treatment each year [7,8]. Despite significant research, obstacles remain in optimising the practical application of these biopolymers for wastewater treatment [9,10]. The problem centres on limitations such as mechanical stability, regeneration capacity, and scalability of biopolymer-based materials [11,12]. Although researchers have documented the adsorption capabilities and modification techniques of biopolymer-based materials, thorough bibliometric evaluations that integrate trends, gaps, and collaborative networks across materials remain fragmented [4,6,13]. This is because these studies are generally material-specific or application-specific, limiting their ability to provide a holistic perspective on the broader field of biopolymer-based wastewater treatment. As a result, comparative insights across different biopolymers, their functional modifications, application domains, and global research networks remain insufficiently explored. The balance between material performance and environmental effect remains a source of dispute, with some research emphasising laboratory-scale efficacy and others highlighting real-world implementation challenges [14,15]. The lack of a comprehensive synthesis of global research hinders the identification of key knowledge gaps and the translation of laboratory discoveries into scalable technologies [16,17].
Therefore, this study aims to conduct a comprehensive cross-biopolymer bibliometric analysis of global research on biopolymer-based materials for wastewater treatment. By analysing a large dataset of publications indexed in the Scopus database (1995–2025) using bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer [18,19], this work seeks to identify publication trends, leading contributors, collaboration patterns, and key research themes. Beyond descriptive metrics, the study provides integrated insights into research development, knowledge gaps, and future directions, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of how biopolymer-based technologies can be advanced toward sustainable and scalable wastewater treatment solutions.

2. Types and Some Sources of Biopolymers

This section provides a concise contextual overview of the major biopolymers identified in the bibliometric analysis. It is not intended as a systematic but rather as an illustrative summary to support the interpretation of bibliometric trends observed in the dataset. Biopolymers have emerged as a viable solution for wastewater treatment, providing an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemical treatments. These materials, derived from natural sources (see Figure 1), are biodegradable, non-toxic, and cost-effective, making them ideal for tackling the environmental concerns faced by industrial and municipal wastewater [20]. Biopolymers are used in wastewater treatment to remove a variety of contaminants, including heavy metals, dyes, and emerging organic pollutants, through methods such as adsorption, flocculation, and coagulation. These biopolymers include chitosan, alginate, cellulose, agar, and starch.

2.1. Cellulose

Cellulose is a linear polymer composed of β-D-glucose units linked by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds. It is the most prevalent biopolymer on Earth, predominantly found in plant cell walls. It is a structural polysaccharide that gives stiffness and strength to plant cells [21]. It can be obtained from a variety of sources, including plants, wood cell walls, algal tissues, and some types of bacteria [22]. Cellulose has unique properties, such as biodegradability, environmental friendliness, and biocompatibility, which make it an appealing material for various industrial uses, including wastewater treatment [23,24]. However, despite this biopolymer having these properties, its use in wastewater treatment is limited due to its chemical structure and physicochemical properties. The structure of natural cellulose has various hydrogen bonds inside and between molecules and is highly crystalline, which makes it insoluble in water and common organic solvents [25]. Therefore, its structure needs to be modified to meet its applications in wastewater treatment. Table 1 shows biopolymer-based materials, including cellulose, in wastewater treatment. It also demonstrates that the adsorption capacity of most biopolymer-based materials is governed by chemical functionalization and composite design, while native or minimally modified materials have low adsorption capacities.
It should be noted that the adsorption capacities reported in Table 1 are influenced by experimental conditions such as pH, initial concentration, contact time, and temperature. The table is intended to illustrate general trends rather than provide definitive performance rankings.

2.2. Chitosan

Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide that consists of β-(1→4)-linked D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine units [52]. It is one of the most often utilised biopolymers in wastewater treatment, produced by the deacetylation of chitin, a polysaccharide present in crustacean shells (e.g., prawn, crab, and lobster exoskeletons), insects and fungi [53]. It has abundant amino (-NH2) and hydroxyl (-OH) groups, which help facilitate the adsorption of different pollutants through various mechanisms such as chelation, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic attraction, enabling efficient removal of both cationic and anionic pollutants [54]. However, raw chitosan has shortfalls in that also has limited application in wastewater treatment due to attributes such as its poor solubility in neutral and basic pH and poor mechanical strength. So, it is often modified to enhance its properties [55,56].

2.3. Alginate

Alginate, also known as alginic acid, is a naturally occurring polysaccharide derived from marine brown algae. It is produced mostly from various Laminaria species, such as Laminaria Hyperborea, Laminaria Digitata, Laminaria japonica, and Macrocystis pyrifera. Some bacteria, including Azotobacter vinelandii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, also generate it [57,58,59]. Alginate extraction relies on the water solubility of its sodium salt, as alginic acid is insoluble; therefore, calcium and potassium alginates are converted to sodium alginate using sodium carbonate. Natural alginate in various salt forms (e.g., calcium, magnesium, or other algal alginates) is converted into water-soluble sodium alginate during alginate extraction with aqueous alkali solutions (NaOH) [60]. Grafting, crosslinking, and blending can all be used to improve the characteristics of alginate for specific purposes. Such modifications can increase its metal binding and adsorption characteristics, making it useful for wastewater treatment [61].

2.4. Pectin

Pectin is a natural anionic polysaccharide mainly derived from the cell walls of fruits and vegetables, especially citrus peels and apple pomace, which are two important agro-industrial byproducts. Its structure mainly consists of α-(1→4)-linked D-galacturonic acid units. Some of these units are methyl-esterified at the carboxyl (-COOH) groups, resulting in various degrees of esterification (DE). The DE determines whether pectin is high-methoxyl (HM) or low-methoxyl (LM), affecting its gelation and metal-binding properties [62]. It can be chemically functionalized to improve its adsorption capacity, allowing for efficient removal of heavy metals, dyes, and other pollutants from wastewater. At the same time, its derivatives serve as flocculants, adsorbents, and components in hybrid materials and metal–organic frameworks for water purification, thereby promoting environmental sustainability and supporting circular economy practices by converting waste into eco-friendly treatment resources [63].

2.5. Other Biopolymers

Starch is a naturally occurring biocompatible and biodegradable biopolymer found in the stalks, roots, and crop seeds of several plants. Starch granules with 3D architecture have a crystallinity of 15% to 45% and include d-glucose units with bio-macromolecules such as amylopectin, branched (1→6) α-d-glucan, amylose, and linear (1→4)-linked α-d-glucan [64]. It has a unique structure that enables it to interact with a variety of contaminants via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. This makes it an efficient adsorbent for heavy metals and emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment [12,65]. Other natural fibres, including lignin and agar, have been demonstrated to be a key remedy in wastewater treatment [66,67].

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Document Collection

The document collection process for this study was performed using the Scopus database, one of the most comprehensive and globally recognised academic indexing platforms [68]. Using the advanced search query (chitosan OR alginate OR cellulose OR starch OR lignin OR pectin OR agar OR biopolymer AND in AND wastewater AND treatment) AND PUBYEAR > 1994 AND PUBYEAR < 2026, an initial 14,788 documents were retrieved. The search was performed using the advanced search option, targeting the title, abstract, and keywords fields to ensure relevance and consistency. To ensure consistency in the temporal evolution of biopolymer-based materials for wastewater treatment, the document set was filtered by publication year (1995–2025), yielding a refined dataset that reflects three decades of research progress. Only English documents were included in this study, and the document types included research articles, review articles, conference papers, conference reviews, book chapters, and short surveys.
After applying these inclusion criteria, the final number of documents was 13,720, representing the core dataset used for bibliometric and scientometric analysis. These documents were exported in CSV format, which is compatible with VOSviewer, enabling the construction of collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence maps, and citation impact visualisations. The analysis revealed that the dominant subject area, by having many documents, was environmental science (6844), highlighting the strong environmental focus of biopolymer applications in wastewater treatment. This was followed by chemical engineering (4124), chemistry (3962), materials science (3081), engineering (2820), and biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology (2277), demonstrating the multidisciplinary nature of research in this field.
The curated dataset was then utilized to examine annual publication trends, citation performance, subject area distribution, and international collaborations, providing a complete picture of scientific activity and new directions in biopolymer-based wastewater treatment research.

3.2. VOS Viewer Analysis

VOSviewer version 1.6.20 was used to analyse the lists of authors, institutes, and countries. Van Eck and Waltman (2010) developed a program for creating and displaying bibliometric networks [69]. For network construction, the full counting method was employed, where each co-authorship or keyword occurrence was assigned equal weight. Data normalisation was performed using the association strength method, which is the default normalisation technique in VOSviewer and allows for accurate mapping of relationships between items.
Threshold values were applied to ensure meaningful visualisation and to reduce noise in the network maps. For example,
  • A minimum number of documents per author was set (e.g., ≥20 publications) for co-authorship analysis.
  • A minimum number of occurrences (e.g., ≥700) was applied for keyword co-occurrence analysis.
These thresholds were selected to focus on the most influential entities while maintaining network clarity.
Before analysis, the dataset was cleaned to improve accuracy. This included
  • Merging author name variants (e.g., differences in initials or spelling).
  • Normalising keywords by combining synonyms and singular/plural forms using a thesaurus file.

4. Publication Trends

The publication trend from 1995 to 2025 shows a clear and continuous rise in research output related to biopolymer-based materials for wastewater treatment, based on the Scopus query (chitosan OR alginate OR cellulose OR starch OR lignin OR pectin OR agar OR biopolymer wastewater treatment). Figure 2 illustrates both the annual growth in publications and the distribution of document types. While research articles dominate the dataset, review articles show a gradual increase, indicating a maturing research field with growing emphasis on synthesis and consolidation of knowledge. Early years (1995–2005) show very limited activity, with publications growing slowly from 17 documents in 1995 to just over 100 by 2005. This period reflects the foundational phase of biopolymer research, when the application of natural polymers in environmental remediation was still emerging.
A noticeable increase occurs from 2006 to around 2015, where annual publications steadily rise from 116 to 323 publications. This reflects growing scientific interest in sustainable materials, green chemistry, and low-cost biopolymers. The modification, characterization, and use of natural polymers in wastewater treatment studies became increasingly well-established during this time, and multidisciplinary research grew.
The most substantial growth appears from 2016, going up, marking the rapid expansion phase of the field. Publications climbed dramatically from 388 papers in 2016 to 1822 in 2024, with a peak production of 2023 documents in 2025. This growth may be associated with increasing global interest in sustainable water treatment solutions, although this relationship is not directly demonstrated by the bibliometric data. Overall, this trend indicates that biopolymer-based wastewater treatment has evolved into a significant and rapidly growing field of study.

5. Results

5.1. Publishing Sources with Citations

This bibliometric study discovered a total of 1384 source titles. A minimum threshold of 110 documents per source was applied; only 21 journals met the inclusion criteria. Among these, Bioresource Technology is the most prominent, with a contribution of 462 documents and 41,545 citations, followed by the Chemical Engineering Journal (258 documents; 20,026 citations), Water Research (272 documents; 32,385 citations), and the Journal of Hazardous Materials (241 documents; 30,221 citations). Other influential sources include Chemosphere, the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Science of the Total Environment, Desalination, the Journal of Cleaner Production, and Separation and Purification Technology, each accumulating more than 7000 citations. These journals serve as the primary publication venues for breakthroughs in biopolymer-based materials, environmental engineering, and wastewater treatment technology and may also suggest the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Table 2 lists the top 10 influential journals.

5.2. Most Contributing Countries

Out of 134 countries analysed, 51 met the minimum threshold of 50 documents, highlighting significant contributions to biopolymer-based wastewater treatment research (see the top 10 in Table 3). The analysis of publication and citation data reveals which countries are experts in biopolymer-based wastewater treatment research. China leads with 3809 papers and 159,611 citations, followed by India (1573 documents, 66,542 citations) and the United States (817 documents, 53,950 citations). The dominance of China, followed by India and the United States, may reflect a combination of factors, including increased national investment in environmental research, strong publication output in materials science, and the prioritisation of water treatment technologies in rapidly industrialising regions. Other noteworthy contributions include Malaysia, South Korea, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Spain, and Australia. The large citation counts of these countries show that their research outputs have a considerable influence, with China dominating due to its emphasis on environmental issues and wastewater management. Overall, Asia and North America are the most productive and influential in this subject.

5.3. Top Organisations/Institutions

Applying a minimum criterion of 25 publications per organisation to the 13,720 documents in the bibliometric dataset yielded 21 institutions that matched the selection criteria. These organisations are the most prolific research centres in the sector, with China leading the way with many high-output universities and state-key laboratories, demonstrating the country’s strong and expanding investment in advanced environmental and materials research. Notably, the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences emerged as the leading university in terms of publications, followed by notable contributors such as Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Guangxi University, and Jiangsu University (see Table 4). Although the representation of Malaysian and Netherlands institutions is limited, it indicates the worldwide distribution of expertise and collaborative effort in the topic. The concentration of leading institutions within specific regions may suggest the presence of established research specialising in biopolymer-based materials. This may be attributed to access to funding, infrastructure, and collaborative networks.

5.4. Co-Authorship Network

According to the co-authorship study, 25 authors out of a total of 40,671 authors met the requirement of at least 20 publications, showing that only a tiny elite group represents the field’s core collaborative structure. Zhang, Jian has the highest total link strength (TLS = 5), a metric used to assess the overall connectivity of an item within a scientific network, indicating that he is the most connected researcher in this collaboration network. The relatively low TLS values observed for several authors, including some highly cited contributors, suggest that the field may be characterised by a degree of fragmentation, with multiple research groups operating independently rather than within strongly interconnected collaboration networks. The presence of highly cited authors with TLS = 0 may indicate limited co-authorship within the defined network thresholds. See the summary in Table 5 below.
The co-authorship network depicts collaborative trends among authors in the area. Each node on the map symbolises an individual author, and its size indicates their publishing output. Authors who interact more frequently are positioned closer together (see Figure 3), and the thickness of the connecting lines shows the strength of their collaborations. Different colours reflect various cooperation clusters, indicating groups of writers that collaborate more frequently [69].

5.5. Most Cited Authors

Only 16 of the 40,671 authors found in the sample had at least 3000 citations. In this analysis, author influence is measured using total citations rather than publication count, because citations better represent research exposure, impact, and academic influence.
Among these high-impact authors, Crini, Gregório is the leading contributor with 11,304 citations, followed by Wan Ngah, Wan Saime Wan (4519 citations), and Yu, Hanqing (4458 citations) (see Table 6). Regardless of publication number, these authors represent the intellectual core of the subject, influencing the direction of research on biopolymer-based materials for wastewater treatment.

5.6. Most Cited Articles

It is important to evaluate the most cited and influential articles after the most cited authors in bibliometric studies. Herein, 14 of 11,680 papers have at least 1600 citations. The most prominent contributors were identified based on their citation impact rather than publication numbers. Crini (2006) is the most referenced paper, with 4130 citations. His article reviews the cost-effective adsorption strategies for removing non-biodegradable pollutants, particularly dyes, highlighting the growing use of low-cost natural and waste-derived sorbents as alternatives to activated carbon and emphasising chitosan as a highly promising material for environmental remediation [70]. The second contributing article was authored by Babel (2003), with 3171 citations. The article discusses the use of low-cost materials like chitosan, zeolites, lignin, and industrial wastes as alternatives to activated carbon for heavy metal removal, highlighting their exceptional adsorption capacities and that the chemical modification plays a major role in adsorption [71]. Gupta and Suhas (2009) had the third most influential articles, with 3151 citations. They reviewed low-cost alternative adsorbents (LCAs), including natural, industrial, and synthetic waste materials as efficient, economical options for dye removal, summarising their advantages, adsorption performance, and comparison with other treatment methods while outlining key insights and future research needs [72]. Other significant contributions are Bailey (1999) (2997 citations), who studies low-cost sorbents for metal remediation [73], and Sheng et al. (2010), with 2853 citations, who investigated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in biological treatment systems [74].
Notably, the most highly cited articles are mainly broad reviews on low-cost adsorbents, dye removal, and heavy metal adsorption rather than specifically on cross-biopolymer systems. This suggests that the field is more strongly rooted in general wastewater treatment and adsorption research than in a distinct, unified biopolymer-based materials domain. Table 7 summarises the most influential articles with their respective author(s).

5.7. Co-Occurrence Network

The co-occurrence of keywords was examined from all papers included in this study to uncover research hotspots, interrelated topics, and emerging trends in biopolymer-based wastewater treatment materials. From a total of 49,974 extracted keywords, those that appeared at least 700 times were selected, resulting in 43 high-frequency keywords for network analysis. Keyword mapping was performed using VOSviewer. Colour variations depict cluster groups, which represent theme intensities in the research subject. Circles positioned closer together represent stronger keyword relationships. The colour of each circle shows how keywords within the same cluster are interconnected [75].
To investigate the progress, focus of study areas, and conceptual links in this domain, both author keywords and keywords-plus were normalised to unify plural/singular forms and combine synonymous terms using a thesaurus. As shown in Figure 4, “wastewater treatment” is the most common term, with 8684 occurrences and a total link strength of 47,475, suggesting its importance in this research environment. Other important phrases are “adsorption” (3586; TLS = 23,606), “wastewater” (3874; TLS = 29,128), “cellulose” (2317; TLS = 14,152), “chitosan” (2156; TLS = 12,234), and “water pollutants, chemical” (1272; TLS = 14,211) (see Table 8). These significant connection strengths show the ongoing emphasis on pollution removal, adsorption methods, and the usage of natural biopolymers such as cellulose, chitosan, lignin, and starch. Overall, the network demonstrates how biopolymer-based materials have become central to wastewater treatment.

6. Conclusions, Future Work, and Recommendations

This review article presents a complete bibliometric assessment of biopolymer-based materials in wastewater treatment, comprising 13,720 Scopus-indexed papers between 1995 and 2025. The study reveals a considerable global interest in sustainable wastewater technology. The key findings are summarised as follows:
  • A significant increase in publication output was observed, particularly after 2016, indicating growing research interest in sustainable water treatment technologies.
  • China, India, and the United States emerged as the most productive and influential contributors, reflecting strong research activity in environmental materials science.
  • Leading journals are primarily positioned at the intersection of materials science and environmental engineering, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the field.
  • Co-authorship analysis revealed relatively fragmented collaboration networks, suggesting the presence of multiple independent research groups and opportunities for stronger global collaboration.
  • Citation analysis showed that highly cited works are largely dominated by broad review articles on adsorption and wastewater treatment, indicating that the field is intellectually anchored in the wider environmental remediation literature.
  • Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified adsorption, wastewater treatment, chitosan, and cellulose as dominant research themes, with increasing attention given to composite materials and functional modifications.
From a broader perspective, these findings suggest that while biopolymer-based materials represent an important and growing area of research, the field is still evolving toward a more integrated and cohesive research structure.
Future research directions, informed by the broader literature context, may include
  • Strengthening interdisciplinary and international collaboration networks;
  • Advancing the integration of biopolymer materials into scalable and real-world applications.

Author Contributions

Conceptualisation, A.D., M.A.S. and P.P.M.; methodology, A.D. and M.A.S.; resources, A.D.; data curation, A.D. and M.A.S.; writing—original draft preparation, A.D.; writing—review and editing, A.D., M.A.S., P.P.M. and M.E.M.; visualisation, A.D.; supervision, M.A.S., P.P.M. and M.E.M.; project administration, M.A.S.; funding acquisition, A.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Research Foundation (Sasol Foundation), grant number PMDS240613227379.

Data Availability Statement

No new data were created or analysed in this study. Data sharing is not applicable to this article.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the University of the Free State (Department of Chemistry) and the University of Johannesburg (Department of Metallurgical Engineering) for providing a conducive research environment, as well as the NRF (Sasol Foundation) for financial support.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that this study received funding from the Sasol Foundation. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication.

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Polymers 18 00953 g001
Figure 1. Different biopolymers that are used in wastewater treatment and their sources.
Figure 1. Different biopolymers that are used in wastewater treatment and their sources.
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Polymers 18 00953 g002
Figure 2. Number of published articles on “biopolymer-based materials in wastewater” based on the Scopus database (accessed on 20 November 2025).
Figure 2. Number of published articles on “biopolymer-based materials in wastewater” based on the Scopus database (accessed on 20 November 2025).
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Polymers 18 00953 g003
Figure 3. Visualisation of author collaboration patterns.
Figure 3. Visualisation of author collaboration patterns.
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Polymers 18 00953 g004
Figure 4. Co-occurrence network of high-frequency keywords (≥700 occurrences) related to biopolymer-based materials in wastewater treatment (1995–2025), generated using VOSviewer.
Figure 4. Co-occurrence network of high-frequency keywords (≥700 occurrences) related to biopolymer-based materials in wastewater treatment (1995–2025), generated using VOSviewer.
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Table 1. Summary of biopolymer-based materials for wastewater treatment.
Table 1. Summary of biopolymer-based materials for wastewater treatment.
BiopolymerPollutants RemovedMechanismAdsorption Capacity (mg/g)Reusability (Cycles)References
Cellulose-based
CBBAS (cellulose beads from bleached almond shell)Cu (II)Chelation128.244[26]
CCBG-g-PDMDAAC3.0 (DMDAAC-grafted chitosan/genipin/cellulose hydrogel beads)Reactive Red 195Electrostatic attraction1333.525[27]
CCBG-g-PDMDAAC3.0 (DMDAAC-grafted chitosan/genipin/cellulose hydrogel beads)Methyl OrangeElectrostatic attraction190.485[27]
GT-cellulose (GTMAC-modified hemp cellulose)Methyl OrangeElectrostatic attraction76.9-[28]
Cationic cellulose (periodate oxidation + Girard’s reagent T)Eriochrome Cyanine R (ECR)Electrostatic attraction65.335[29]
Cationic cellulose fibre (GTMAC-modified cellulose pulp)Reactive Black 5Electrostatic attraction10105[30]
Alkali-scoured modified rice huskCongo RedSurface adsorption93.8-[31]
Nascent rice huskCrystal VioletElectrostatic interaction 25.46-[32]
Carboxymethyl cellulose–alginic acid–polyethyleneimineCr(VI)Chelation293.265[33]
PEI-modified celluloseMethyl BlueElectrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding1550.558[34]
PEI-modified celluloseRose BengalElectrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding467.958[34]
Chitosan-based
Ammonium-modified chitosan compositeCongo RedElectrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding1261.645[35]
Chitosan-based composite microspheresEriochrome Black T dyeElectrostatic interactions317.21-[36]
Nitrilotriacetic acid-modified magnetic chitosan microspheresTetracyclineπ–π interactions, hydrogen bonding625.525[37]
Amine-thiourea-modified magnetic chitosan hydrogelCe (III)Chelation, electrostatic interaction1565[38]
Chitosan filmAs(V)Electrostatic interaction15.234[39]
Alginate-based
Calcium alginate hydrogel beadsMethyl VioletElectrostatic attraction889 -[40]
Alginate-coated perlite beadsMethylene BlueElectrostatic attraction104.105[41]
ZnO nanoparticle-embedded Sodium alginate membrane Methylene BlueElectrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding746.003[42]
Magnetic sodium alginate–zirconium(IV) beadsPb (II)Complexation333.3310[43]
Pectin-based
Low methoxy pectin–guar gum hybrid beadsPb (II)Ion exchange and complexation104.8-[44]
Calcium pectate gel beadsHg (II)Ion exchange and complexation340-[45]
Pectin microgel particlesMethylene BlueElectrostatic attraction 284.093[46]
Chitosan–pectin gel beadsCu (II)Complexation 169.45[47]
Chitosan–pectin gel beadsCd (II)Complexation 177.65[47]
Other biopolymer-based
Crosslinked porous starchMethylene BlueElectrostatic attraction9.46-[48]
Crosslinked starchPb (II)Chelation433-[49]
Crosslinked starchCu (II) Chelation 135-[49]
Lignin-based polyurethane FoamMethylene GreenElectrostatic attraction, π–π interactions, hydrogen bonding8020[50]
Agar-APTES cryogelsCr (III)Ion exchange, chelation, electrostatic attraction 52.58-[51]
Table 2. Top-cited journals identified in the bibliometric analysis.
Table 2. Top-cited journals identified in the bibliometric analysis.
RankSourceDocumentsCitations
1Bioresource Technology46241,545
2Water Research27232,385
3Journal of Hazardous Materials24130,221
4Chemical Engineering Journal25820,026
5Science of the Total Environment24212,016
6International Journal of Biological Macromolecules38214,401
7Chemosphere30516,325
8Journal of Environmental Management18817,560
9Carbohydrate Polymers17417,871
10Separation and Purification Technology2008710
Table 3. Top 10 most cited countries in bipolymer-based wastewater treatment research.
Table 3. Top 10 most cited countries in bipolymer-based wastewater treatment research.
RankCountryDocumentsCitations
1China3809159,611
2India157366,542
3United States81753,950
4Saudi Arabia39415,787
5Malaysia49923,741
6South Korea39720,094
7Canada39820,545
8Egypt41214,094
9Spain34918,354
10Australia29615,430
Table 4. Leading 10 research institutions meeting the 25-document threshold.
Table 4. Leading 10 research institutions meeting the 25-document threshold.
RankOrganisation/InstitutionCountryDocumentsCitations
1University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina873351
2Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Johor Bahru)Malaysia752757
3Guangxi University, NanningChina621934
4Jiangsu University, ZhenjiangChina611983
5State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control TechnologyChina431377
6State Key Laboratory of Biobased MaterialsChina421192
7Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of TechnologyNetherlands402065
8Harbin Institute of Technology (Main Campus)China341984
9School of Environment, Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina331339
10Tongji University, ShanghaiChina322749
Table 5. Top 10 authors ranked by total link strength in the co-authorship network.
Table 5. Top 10 authors ranked by total link strength in the co-authorship network.
RankAuthorDocumentsCitationsTotal Link Strength (TLS)
1Zhang, Jian2511485
2Ngo, Huu Hao2424764
3Wang, Wei3514123
4Li, Yan257931
5Zhang, Tao248651
6Zheng, Huaili2413531
7Añón, J.C.R.4738140
8Crini, Grégorio2411,3040
9Fatehi, Pedram275180
10Sillanpää, Mika A.2731220
Table 6. Top 10 most cited authors.
Table 6. Top 10 most cited authors.
RankAuthorDocumentsCitations
1Crini, Gregório2411,304
2Wan Ngah, Wan Saime Wan64519
3Yu, Hanqing144458
4Kurniawan, Tonni Agustiono94374
5Babel, Sandhya24014
6Gupta, Vinod Kumar A.63958
7Li, Xiaoyan153951
8Añón, J. C. R.473814
9Megat Hanafiah, Megat Ahmad Kamal33637
10Elimelech, Menachem113633
Table 7. Summary of highly cited articles and their topics.
Table 7. Summary of highly cited articles and their topics.
RankArticle (First Author, Year)CitationsTopic/Focus
1Crini (2006)4130Non-conventional low-cost adsorbents for dye removal: A review
2Babel (2003)3171Low-cost adsorbents for heavy metals uptake from contaminated water: A review
3Gupta and Suhas (2009)3151Application of low-cost adsorbents for dye removal—A review
4Bailey (1999)2997A review of potentially low-cost sorbents for heavy metals
5Sheng (2010)2853Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of microbial aggregates in biological wastewater treatment systems: A review
6Wan Ngah (2011)2710Adsorption of dyes and heavy metal ions by chitosan composites: A review
7Haritash (2009)2650Biodegradation aspects of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): A review
8Crini (2008)2152Application of chitosan, a natural aminopolysaccharide, for dye removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption processes using batch studies: A review of recent literature
Table 8. Top 12 frequently used keywords in the research of biopolymer-based materials in wastewater treatment (1995–2025).
Table 8. Top 12 frequently used keywords in the research of biopolymer-based materials in wastewater treatment (1995–2025).
RankKeywordOccurrencesTotal Link Strength
1wastewater treatment8684169,734
2wastewater387497,083
3adsorption358657,873
4pH147349,786
5cellulose231748,261
6chemistry148348,183
7water pollutants, chemical127243,271
8water pollutant122742,244
9chitosan215639,853
10sewage121936,001
11pollutant removal117733,801
12dyes105431,732
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Dambuza, A.; Mokolokolo, P.P.; Makhatha, M.E.; Sibeko, M.A. Bibliometric Analysis of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Wastewater Treatment. Polymers 2026, 18, 953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080953

AMA Style

Dambuza A, Mokolokolo PP, Makhatha ME, Sibeko MA. Bibliometric Analysis of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Wastewater Treatment. Polymers. 2026; 18(8):953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080953

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dambuza, Anathi, Pennie P. Mokolokolo, Mamookho E. Makhatha, and Motshabi A. Sibeko. 2026. "Bibliometric Analysis of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Wastewater Treatment" Polymers 18, no. 8: 953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080953

APA Style

Dambuza, A., Mokolokolo, P. P., Makhatha, M. E., & Sibeko, M. A. (2026). Bibliometric Analysis of Biopolymer-Based Materials in Wastewater Treatment. Polymers, 18(8), 953. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18080953

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