Research Hotspots and Trend Analysis in Modeling Groundwater Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquids Contamination based on Bibliometrics

Modeling dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) contamination in groundwater is challenging because of its multiphase distribution. To understand the research trends of DNAPL modeling in groundwater, a bibliometric analysis was conducted using CiteSpace based on 614 publications from the WoS Core Collection database (1993-2023). The publications were statistically analyzed, and the research hotspots and trends were summarized. The statistical analysis of the publications indicates that: the United States is leading the international research on DNAPL models, followed by China and Canada; collaboration between countries and disciplines in this field needs to be strengthened. The summary of keyword clustering and burst detection reveals that: the current research hotspots focus on multiphase flow models, mass transfer models, back diffusion, and practical applications of the models; the research trends are centered on back diffusion mechanisms, characterization of contamination source zones and prediction of contaminant distribution in real-world sites, as well as the optimization of remediation strategies.