Mapping Reverse Osmosis Research for Drinking Water Treatment: A Bibliometric Analysis of Trends and Applications

Abstract

Access to safe drinking water remains a major global challenge, while reverse osmosis (RO) has become an important technology for desalination and advanced drinking-water treatment. However, the development of RO research has not been sufficiently characterized in terms of publication growth, research themes, membrane technologies, water-source applications, and geographic distribution. This study aims to map the research landscape of RO for drinking-water treatment and to position RO relative to other treatment technologies. Bibliometric data were retrieved from OpenAlex for English-language research articles published from 1995 to 2025. After screening and inclusion criteria were applied, 192 RO-related articles were analyzed. Publication trends, citation patterns, geographic distribution, membrane types, and water-source applications were analyzed using Microsoft Excel, while keyword co-occurrence, overlay, and density analyses were conducted using VOSviewer. Comparative publication datasets were also compiled for ozonation, activated carbon adsorption, and UV disinfection. The results show a substantial increase in RO publications after 2017, reaching a peak of 20 publications in 2023. Research themes are centered on membrane technology, desalination, fouling, nanotechnology, and polyamide membranes, while groundwater, surface water, and microbial-related themes form additional clusters. Seawater is the most frequently reported water source, followed by brackish water and groundwater. Among the compared technologies, RO has the highest publication output. The findings provide a basis for identifying future research directions and supporting context-specific drinking-water treatment development, particularly in Indonesia.