Utilization of Drilling Waste in the Production of Construction Materials

A technology for the disposal of drilling waste is proposed that provides an inexpensive, environmentally friendly construction material that meets the required physical and mechanical characteristics and has protective properties against ionizing radiation. The results of research on determining the physical and mechanical properties of composite materials are presented. Studies were carried out for different contents of drilling sludge in the raw material mixture. It is shown that when the content of drilling sludge in the aggregate is 50%, the highest values of the compressive strength of samples are provided. These results correlate with data on the value of the attenuation coefficient of the ionizing radiation dose rate, which makes it possible to consider the ratio sand: drilling sludge = 50: 50 as the optimal composition of a composite material with increased mechanical strength and the ability to attenuate the ionizing radiation dose rate. The results of the study showed that the proposed compositions of composite materials are able to withstand long-term radiation exposure without significant deterioration of construction and technical properties. The proposed method of disposal of drilling waste increases environmental protection, improves the environmental situation and at the same time allows using cheap components to obtain building material for lining rooms with sources of ionizing radiation, for the construction of storage facilities for low-level radioactive waste.