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Environmental Benefits Of Fracking

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In our universe, energy is neither created nor destroyed. Instead, chemical engineers have long been interested in manipulating nature in order to create sustainable energy sources. These sources must be cost effective, while maintaining a low negative impact on the environment. Some hallmark energy sources are air (wind turbines), water (water turbines), and nuclear power. This is not a comprehensive list, but they are the main competitors to the most widely used source of energy, natural gas, providing 25% of the nation’s energy. Natural gas has recently seen a large increase in popularity, which can be attributed to a process called hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as “fracking”. The United States has a large deposit of shale …show more content…

Roberts. LTC Roberts was a civil war veteran, and after seeing the damage done by antebellum era artillery, he figured that he could rupture a flow of gas or oil by using iron shells packed with gun powder in an established oil field. The industry took off in Titusville, PA, and spread rapidly throughout the Appalachian mountain range and Ohio River basin. Soon gun powder was replaced with nitroglycerin and many similar advancements continued to take place. Non-explosive alternatives were experimented with in the 1930’s, and this technique more closely resembles the process used today. It’s these incremental enhancements throughout the years that makes hydraulic fracturing what it is …show more content…

Furthermore, take any of the lubrication phases, for example, and imagine the damage those chemicals impose on the environment. The damage is tremendous, and, in addition, many of these drilling sites have gas trapped in impermeable rock that impede the flow. This causes the drillers to leave a large impact on the environment because it is harder to reach the gas, thus needing more chemicals. To be clear, the toxic lubricant chemicals and water being used in the process have potentially life threatening consequences. The issue arises in that large energy companies do not take the necessary precautions to protect the environment as they should. If the toxins placed deep within the ground seep into the ground water, it has the potential to contaminate that water source for decades. For instance, residents in Fort Worth, Texas, the site of over 14,000 gas wells, have long been complaining of contaminated water that have had un explained health altercations as well. This issues gives clear insight on the impact a chemical engineer could have on a community, if they decide to work on taking proper precautions over their

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