Sustainable biofuel economy: A mapping through bibliometric research

J Environ Manage. 2023 Jun 15:336:117644. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117644. Epub 2023 Mar 7.

Abstract

Biofuels have received a lot of attention as an important source of renewable energy, with number of economic impacts. This study aims to investigate the economic potential of biofuels and then extract core aspects of how biofuels relate to a sustainable economy in order to achieve a sustainable biofuel economy. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of publications about biofuel economic research covering 2001 to 2022 experimenting with multiple bibliometric tools, such as R Studio, Biblioshiny, and VOSviewer. Findings show that research on biofuels and biofuel production growth are positively correlated. From the analyzed publications, The United States, India, China, and Europe are the largest biofuel markets, with the USA taking the lead in publishing scientific papers, engaging country collaboration on biofuel, and has the highest social impact. Findings also show that the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, and Spain are more inclined to develop sustainable biofuel economies and energy than other European countries. It also indicates that sustainable biofuel economies are still far behind those of less developed and developing countries. Besides, this study finds that biofuel linked to sustainable economy with poverty reduction, agriculture development, renewable energy production, economic growth, climate change policy, environmental protection, carbon emission reduction, green-house gas emission, land use policy, technological innovations, and development. The findings of this bibliometric research are presented using different clusters, mapping, and statistics. The discussion of this study affirms the good and effective policies for a sustainable biofuel economy.

Keywords: Bibliometrics analysis; Bioeconomy; Renewable energy; Sustainable biofuel economy; Sustainable development goals.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bibliometrics
  • Biofuels*
  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Economic Development
  • Europe

Substances

  • Biofuels