Bibliometric analysis of global research on organic waste enzymes for plastic biodegradation: Trends, microbial roles, and process optimization

Abstract

The increasing need for environmentally sustainable waste management has increased interest in enzyme-based organic waste treatment. This study aims to comprehensively analyse global research trends on organic waste enzymes using a bibliometric approach. Bibliographic data were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, covering publications from 2000 to 2023. 234 peer-reviewed articles were selected based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Analysis was performed using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix (R package) to identify keyword co-occurrence patterns, temporal publication trends, and international collaboration networks. The results reveal a significant rise in research output after 2020, with dominant themes including plastic biodegradation, microbial enzyme applications, and optimization of enzymatic processes. The keyword degradation had the highest occurrence (37) and total link strength (74), while review emerged as the most influential term with 46 occurrences and a total link strength of 95. Emerging research areas such as eco enzyme (234 occurrences, average year 2022.3), vegetable waste, and wastewater reflect the increasing relevance of community-scale and environmentally friendly applications. Visualization results highlight the interdisciplinary nature of this field, linking biotechnology, environmental engineering, and waste policy. This study acknowledges limitations, including dependence on English-language publications, potential database coverage bias, and the inability of bibliometric methods to assess the qualitative depth of individual studies. Despite these, the findings provide a data-driven roadmap for future research by identifying gaps in enzyme stability, scalability, and integration with emerging technologies and regulatory frameworks. The insights are expected to support researchers and policymakers in advancing enzyme-based solutions for sustainable organic waste management.