A systematic analysis of research trends on the permeable reactive barrier in groundwater remediation

Groundwater, one of the most important freshwater resources on Earth, is currently experiencing degradation in both quality and quantity. This has prompted scientists to seek solutions to this problem, one of which is permeable reactive barriers. While many researchers have studied PRBs, few have conducted comprehensive literature reviews. In this article bibliometric analysis has been done on permeable reactive barriers publications from 1995 to 2023. This study systematically analyzed various aspects of permeable reactive barriers research, including countries and sponsors, authors, journals, and keywords. This bibliometric analysis of permeable reactive barriers research revealed that China has become the leading country in publication output, due to its strong performance in recent years. The top journal in this field is Environmental Science and Technology, with 60 publications and 5726 citations. The author with the most publications is Faisal A.H., with 24 publications primarily published recently. Keyword analysis and clustering were performed to identify the leading and most popular topics in permeable reactive barriers research. Six clusters were identified, with heavy metals being the most popular topic. Nowadays, researchers are also showing a growing interest in sustainable and biological remediation. In the end, an in-depth comparison that compares different permeable reactive barrier methods with the conventional Pump and Treat approach has been carried out, with a particular emphasis on long-term sustainability and life-cycle cost considerations. Researchers can use the findings in this study as a helpful reference and comprehensive overview for their works.