Energy crop as an environmentally sustainable reclamation option for post-mining sites: a life cycle assessment of cassava planting in Vietnam

Abstract

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.