A bibliometric analysis of global research trends in solar still development for clean water production

Abstract

The world knows how important clean drinking water is. Many people worldwide struggle to acquire pure drinking water. People need a cost-effective, energy-efficient, easy-to-use, zero-discharge technology to resolve this difficulty. Solar is still applicable here. Research on solar has continued since the mid-20th century. This study bibliometrically analyses peer-reviewed solar still research publications. The current study guides new researchers on where to start a literature review. This study aims to provide the groundwork for future solar still development. From this bibliometric analysis, it has been found that the first study on solar stills was published in 1964 and was titled "Design and performance evaluation of a multiple-effect tilted solar distillation unit". The study published in 2013 on nanoparticle utilisation in solar systems, including solar still, has been mentioned over 1,000 times. It is the top-most cited article to date. India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China are the top countries working on solar stills. Top keywords in published publications on solar stills include distillation, solar heating, solar stills, and desalination. The top five index words include distillation, solar heating, solar stills, desalination, solar power, solar energy, and distillation equipment. These bibliographic literature reviews help researchers start their research quickly and methodically.