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Bibliometric analysis of the world scientific production in Chemical Engineering during 2000-2011. Part 3: Analysis of research trends and hot topics

A comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the scientific production of Chemical Engineering area has been carried out using the Web of Science database for the period 2000-2011 through three complementary studies. Part 3 has analyzed the distribution of words in article titles, keyword plus and author keywords of both total scientific production and the 1,000 most cited publications. The main areas of Chemical Engineering have been identified; they are mainly related to chemical reaction engineering such as catalysis, reactors, kinetics, and unit operations such as adsorption. Furthermore, a total of ten hotspots in the area have been identified: hydrogen as a new energy vector, wastewater treatments, carbon dioxide (capture and sequestration), photocatalysis, nanoparticles, biodiesel, nanotubes, ionic liquids, advanced oxidation processes, membranes, fuel cells and the use of biomass as raw material (e.g. bioethanol, energy production, etc.). Results obtained suggest thematic areas and research trends can be easier analyzed through the most cited publications, decreasing significantly the time necessary for these analyses. Words in article title, keyword plus and author keywords are complementary, however, author keywords are suggested as the source of most useful data. Compared to other strategies, the author keywords are more valuable for identifying research areas and trends, and the total number of words to be analyzed is lower. Whatever the case, authors recommend a revision of the results obtained by experts in the area to avoid inaccurate results and get the most meaningful information.