Bioefuels from abandoned mines: A starting point for future developments

Abstract

Abandoned mines and quarries represent sites with the request of restoration due to their pollution. On the other hand, biofuels represent a response to the present request of sustainable energy, in order to reduce the CO$_2$ emission, in transportation, but also in energy production and domestic use. However, biofuels production seldom requires lands for the biomass cultivation. In this paper, the use of the dismissed mines and quarries is suggested for the cultivation of algae, as biomass production. To support this approach, a theoretical numerical evaluation of a typical dismissed quarry is developed in order to highlight the feasibility of the approach itself.