A Study on the Evolution of Carbon Capture and Storage Technology Based on Knowledge Mapping

As a useful technical measure to deal with the problem of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has been highly regarded in both theory and practice under the promotion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Knowledge mapping is helpful for understanding the evolution in terms of research topics and emerging trends in a specific domain. In this work knowledge mapping of CCS technology was investigated using CiteSpace. Several aspects of the outputs of publications in the CCS research area were analyzed, such as annual trends, countries, and institutions. The research topics in this particular technology area were analyzed based on their co-occurring keyword networks and co-citation literature networks, while, the emerging trends and research frontiers were studied through the analysis of burst keywords and citation bursts. The results indicated that the annual number of publications in the research field of CCS technology increased rapidly after 2005. There are more CCS studies published in countries from Asia, North America, and Europe, especially in the United States and China. The Chinese Academy of Sciences not only has the largest number of publications, but also has a greater impact on the research area of CCS technology, however, there are more productive institutions located in developed countries. In the research area of CCS technology, the main research topics include carbon emissions and environmental protection, research and development activities, and social practical issues, meanwhile, the main emerging trends include emerging techniques and processes, emerging materials, evaluation of technological performance, and socioeconomic analysis