School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, No. 1 Dai Co Viet Rd., Hanoi, Vietnam.
Department of Environmental management, Faculty of Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jan;29(5):6722-6732. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-16134-0. Epub 2021 Aug 30.
Using post-mining areas for planting energy crops has emerged as a promising and sustainable reclamation solution due to its potential contributions to environmental protection, land restoration, and especially energy security. However, to ensure the sustainability of this reclamation solution, its environmental performance needs to be thoroughly assessed case by case. Located in Ha Thuong Commune, Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province in northern Vietnam, Nui Phao is the world's largest tungsten mine. To restore post-mining sites at Nui Phao, cassava planting for ethanol production was one of the proposed measures. To support the decision-making, this study employs life cycle assessment to thoroughly evaluate the environmental performance and potential environmental benefits/costs of cassava-based reclamation system in terms of resource consumption and green house gas (GHG) emission. The results show that cassava-based reclamation might bring significant environmental benefits in terms of fossil fuel saving and GHGs reduction (i.e., reduce 50% fossil fuel consumption and 36% GHGs emission); however, it does not bring any benefit in terms of water and land resource consumption. Moreover, the results define cassava cultivation as the "hot spot" of the system, where innovations to enhance the yield and reduce water and fertilizer consumption are required to improve the environmental performance of the cassava-based reclamation system.
利用矿区复垦种植能源作物，因其在环境保护、土地复垦，特别是能源安全方面的潜在贡献，已成为一种有前途且可持续的复垦解决方案。然而，为了确保这种复垦解决方案的可持续性，需要对其环境性能进行逐一彻底评估。越南北太省大土县哈通公社的 Nui Phao 是世界上最大的钨矿。为了恢复 Nui Phao 的矿区，有人提议种植木薯来生产乙醇。为了支持这一决策，本研究采用生命周期评估方法，从资源消耗和温室气体（GHG）排放的角度，全面评估了以木薯为基础的复垦系统的环境绩效和潜在环境效益/成本。结果表明，木薯复垦在节约化石燃料和减少 GHG 排放方面可能带来显著的环境效益（即减少 50%的化石燃料消耗和 36%的 GHG 排放）；然而，在水资源和土地资源消耗方面并没有带来任何益处。此外，研究结果将木薯种植定义为该系统的“热点”，需要创新来提高产量并减少水和肥料的消耗，以提高木薯复垦系统的环境绩效。
