A bibliometric analysis of research on upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) from 1983 to 2012

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket/bed (UASB) has been recognized as a robust technology arousing wide concern in wastewater treatment research recently. In this study, a bibliometric analysis was performed to evaluate the publications on UASB research from 1983 to 2012, based on the Science Citation Index databases. It was identified that a total of 2363 UASB-related outputs were published in 220 journals over the past 30 years. Results showed that China and Indian Institute of Technology in India came as the most productive country and institute publishing most articles on UASB, respectively. The most productive field of “wastewater treatment” would still maintain the leading role as to provide a good reference on the UASB research in the future. Besides, the performance improving approaches and practical applications of the UASB would probably continue as the two main developing orientations. This study is to serve as an alternative and innovative way of revealing the research trends in UASB.