Tracing the Research Pulse: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review of Hydrogen Production Through Gasification

Clean hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role in the future decarbonized energy mix. This places the gasification of biomass as a critical conversion pathway for hydrogen production, owing to its carbon neutrality. However, there is limited research on the direction of the body of literature on this subject matter. Utilising the Bibliometrix package R, this paper conducts a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of the literature on gasification-derived hydrogen production over the previous three decades. The results show a decade-wise spike in hydrogen research, mostly contributed by China, the United States, and Europe, whereas the scientific contribution of Africa on the topic is limited, with less than 6% of the continent’s research output on the subject matter sponsored by African institutions. The current trend of the research is geared towards alignment with the Paris Agreement through feedstock diversification to include renewable sources such as biomass and municipal solid waste and decarbonising the gasification process through carbon-capture technologies. This review reveals a gap in the experimental evaluation of heterogenous organic municipal solid waste for hydrogen production through gasification within the African context. The study provides an incentive for policy actors and researchers to advance the green hydrogen economy in Africa.