Due to the damage caused by mining to vegetation, the lack of soil and acidic and heavy metal pollution in slag and waste rock yards make natural vegetation restoration difficult. To prevent pollution of the surrounding environment by slag yards after precipitation, surface vegetation restoration should be considered in addition to horizontal coverage management to maintain the ecological cycle of the mine. FU-GCL, a special waterproof blanket for environmental remediation, adds a plant growth nutrient layer on top of the sodium based bentonite waterproof blanket. The lower layer of sodium based bentonite waterproof pad has excellent water retention and barrier properties, while the upper layer of nutrient layer provides sufficient nutrients for plant growth. The product combines the isolation of harmful substances, reinforcement of slope protection, and vegetation greening system. It is a new type of multifunctional geotechnical material developed specifically for pollution control and vegetation greening under soil resource scarcity conditions such as mine restoration, desertification control, and roof greening.

The specialized waterproof blanket for environmental restoration has the following technical characteristics:

(1) Multi layer structure allows for targeted selection of GCL and nutrient layer materials based on different usage scenarios. One construction can achieve multiple functions such as anti-seepage isolation, slope reinforcement, and site greening, simplifying the construction process and saving construction costs.

(2) This product not only provides essential nutrients for plant growth, but also has outstanding anti-seepage and isolation performance, which can prevent the spread of toxic and harmful substances in mines or storage yards.

demonstration project 

[Project Background]

The experimental area is located on the southwest slope of a waste dump in a copper mine in Jiangxi Province. The soil is acidic, and the main acid producing substance is pyrite. The average pH value is 4.96, and the pH distribution range is 2.4-6.7. The experimental area is 75m long, 20m wide, and covers an area of 1500m2. The slope is undulating and uneven, with a gradient of 55-60 °. There are many floating stones on the surface, and the stability of the slope is poor. There are gullies in some areas, and the soil layer has uneven particle size and loose texture. There is almost no plant growth in the entire experimental area. The average effective copper content in the experimental area is 87.88mg/kg, effective lead is 46.49mg/kg, and effective zinc is 32.65mg/kg. The high concentration of heavy metal activity can have toxic effects on the growth and development of plants, as well as affect the structure and physicochemical properties of the soil, thereby changing the rhizosphere environment of plants and indirectly affecting their growth and development.

Governance Objectives

Prevent rainwater from washing away the soil discharge site and causing acidic water bodies containing heavy metal pollutants to contaminate nearby rivers with surface runoff; Restore normal annual cycle growth of vegetation.

[Process Flow]

Governance Effect

After years of continuous monitoring and comparison with other technologies, the plant growth in the demonstration area of the environmental restoration waterproof blanket is the best, and all monitoring indicators meet the design requirements, providing a reliable product for similar ecological restoration projects. The comparison of governance effects is shown in the following figure.