  In this paper we compute the time evolution of the elements (4He, 12C, 14N,
16O, 20Ne, 24Mg, 28Si, 32S, 40Ca and 56Fe) and of the supernova rates in the
solar neighbourhood by means of a galactic chemical evolutionary code that
includes in detail the evolution of both single and binary stars. Special
attention is payed to the formation of black holes.
  Our main conclusions: in order to predict the galactic time evolution of the
different types of supernovae, it is essential to compute in detail the
evolution of the binary population, the observed time evolution of carbon is
better reproduced by a galactic model where the effect is included of a
significant fraction of intermediate mass binaries, massive binary mass
exchange provides a possible solution for the production of primary nitrogen
during the very early phases of galactic evolution, chemical evolutionary
models with binaries or without binaries but with a detailed treatment of the
SN Ia progenitors predict very similar age-metallicity relations and very
similar G-dwarf distributions whereas the evolution of the yields as function
of time of the elements 4He, 16O, 20Ne, 24Mg, 28Si, 32S and 40Ca differ by no
more than a factor of two or three, the observed time evolution of oxygen is
best reproduced when most of the oxygen produced during core helium burning in
ALL massive stars serves to enrich the interstellar medium. This can be used as
indirect evidence that (massive) black hole formation in single stars and
binary components is always preceded by a supernova explosion.
