Scientometrics Analysis on the Intellectual Structure of the Research Field of Bioenergy

Bioenergy has been one of the hottest topics in energy science and engineering. This paper aims to assess the evolution of bioenergy as a research field by using scientometrics and scientific visualization techniques. CiteSpacell was used to map the intellectual structure of bioenergy field based on 2237 articles in ISI Web of Science database on this topic between 1973 and 2012, and the co-citation maps analyzed and visualized here show the major areas of research, prominent articles, major knowledge producers and journals in the bioenergy field. The article written by Searchinger et al. ("Use of US croplands for biofuels increases greenhouse gases through emissions from land-use change," 2008) appears to be the most influential source as it was cited the most, the article by Fargione et al. ("Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt," 2008) and the article by Farrell et al. ("Ethanol can contribute to energy and environmental goals," 2006) are respectively the second and third most highly cited document. Biomass and Bioenergy (BIOMASS BIOENERG.) is the most frequently cited journal by the authors writing on the research field of bioenergy. IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is most frequently co-cited author, followed by FAO-Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Lewandowski. The hottest keywords in this field appear to be bioenergy, biomass, energy, biofuels, ethanol, switchgrass and management.