Anaerobic digestion from fruit waste for biogas production to sustainable development: A comprehensive bibliometric analysis

Fruit waste poses significant environmental challenges, while its conversion into biogas through anaerobic digestion offers a sustainable solution. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to understand the current state and evolution of this research. This study analysed 537 documents from the Scopus database (2005–2025) using the keywords ‘biogas’, ‘fruits’ and ‘waste’, with data processed using the RStudio Bibliometric package. The analysis showed a significant annual publication growth rate of 3.53 %. India, Indonesia and Brazil were identified as the most productive countries. Thematic map analysis classified research topics into motor, niche, basic and emerging themes, while thematic evolution showed a diversification and development of topics over time. This study reveals a decisive paradigm shift from treating fruit waste as an environmental problem to an economic opportunity, with the central implication that a strategic research focus on integrating advanced biorefinery technologies with viable economic frameworks is required to unlock its full value.