Experimental Study on the Use of Drilling Mud for Ecological Restoration of Mines in Yulin, Northern Shaanxi

In recent years, drilling methods have been widely used in western regions, but the accompanying disposal of a large amount of mud has become an environmental problem that troubles enterprises and governments. Drilling mud contains abundant organic matter and minerals, which can effectively improve soil structure and fertility. Improper disposal often leads to huge resource waste and environmental pollution. In order to explore new ways of resource utilization of abandoned drilling mud, this article innovatively uses it as a mine soil amendment to improve aeolian sand in arid areas of northern Shaanxi, in order to achieve the goal of turning waste into treasure. By conducting experiments on particle size distribution, permeability, determination of available phosphorus and potassium content, the ecological restoration and improvement effect and mechanism of abandoned drilling mud on aeolian sand soil in northern Shaanxi mining area were explored; Based on a series of pot experiments, the effects of mud addition on key growth characteristic parameters such as plant height, leaf development, and root development were studied, and the plant growth between different treatment groups was compared and analyzed. The experimental results showed that the addition of mud effectively reduced the permeability of aeolian sand in the mining area, increased the content of clay particles, available phosphorus, and available potassium in aeolian sand. That is, the addition of mud made aeolian sand have a "sponge water absorption effect" and also played a good role in "locking" the moisture of aeolian sand, significantly improving its fertility; The results of the pot experiment showed that the waste drilling mud effectively improved the key growth characteristics of plants, such as plant height, leaf development, and root development, proving that drilling mud can effectively improve the soil in the wind blown sand area of northern Shaanxi and enhance plant quality; In addition, based on the comprehensive results of various experiments, it was found that the optimal mixing ratio of drilling mud for improving aeolian sand soil in the study area is 10%. The research results provide theoretical basis and experimental reference for the resource utilization of drilling mud for ecological restoration of mines in northern Shaanxi.