Water From Hydrofracking Processes : Walnut Shell Filter As A Leading Technology

Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, is the process of removing oil and natural gas from in between layers of shale and other low-permeability rocks. This is done by drilling both a well and a horizontal tunnel. Sand and chemicals are shot through the tunnel with incredible pressure, which cracks the shale allowing the oil and natural gas to travel up the well (Jackson, 2014). Fracking has caused a breadth of controversy due to the economic benefits and the geological consequences.

Hydraulic Fracturing is a process where high-pressure fracking fluids are forced into rich shale to extract natural resources. These fracking fluids are a mixture of proppants and “chemical additives such as surfactants, biocides, fiction reducers and other compounds meant to help in the process of freeing the trapped gas”. In addition, the million gallons of water injected along with the fracking fluids return as flowback water and this produced water have the “potential to mix with nearby aquifers and surface water”. As a result, there is a considerable amount of public concern about water contamination due to this process of hydrofracking (Thurman, Ferrer, Biotevogel & Borch, 2014).

Fracking is the nickname for Hydraulic fracturing and a type of drilling that has been used since 1950. Today, fracking is the United States most reliable source of natural gas and oils. Fracking consists of safely tapping shale rock and other tight-rock formations by drilling 1-2 kilometres or more below the surface before slowly turning horizontal and then continuing several thousand feet more. One fracking site can have a number of wells. Once the well is drilled, the drill is removed and the well hole is made solid.

“A Duke study explains 60 sites in New York and Pennsylvania found explosive levels of natural gas in homes water supply a mile and a half from the drilling”(Stone). In addition to “In December 2011, The U.S. E.P.A. relegated a 121-page report linking the contamination of drinking water wells near the town of Pavillion Wyoming to nearby gas drilling” (Stone). This is becoming a very big problem. Fracking has been widely accepted across the country extremely fast with any regulations. It is time to set down some standards. Flowback is water they suck back out after the fracturing that is where all the chemicals are that they put down there to fracture the shale. When the liquid is sucked back up what do they do with it? They go in holding pits. Holding pits vary from state to state on its own regulations on

Hydraulic fracking is vertical well bores are drilled thousands of feet into the earth, through sediment layers, the water table, and shale rock formations in order to reach the oil and gas. The drilling is then angled horizontally, where a cement casing is installed and will serve as a conduit for the massive volume of water, fracking fluid, chemicals and sand needed to fracture the rock and shale. In some cases, prior to the injection of fluids, small explosives are used to open up the bedrock. The fractures allow the gas and oil to be removed from the formerly impervious rock formations. Although fracking has technically been in existence for decades, the scale and type of drilling now taking place, deep fracking, is a new form of drilling

Hydraulic fracturing, or also known as fracking, is a technique that is used to recover oil and gases directing coming from rocks that we have lost. The process, which tends to be successful in recovering these resources, can be controversial against many citizens. Since fracking consists of water, sand, and other chemicals being injected into the deep rocks underground, the high pressure of drilling down into the earth with this mixture allows the gas to flow out. This technique is rather effective and useful for the industry; its results making it possible for businesses to use the sources we’ve wasted and used. However, what gets many people riling against the procedure is that fracking can also result in water contamination. Recognizing that water contamination is already a national issue that all governments have a desire to resolve, the population is skeptical towards why industries are allowing such method of regaining oils and gases to pollute their water.With the help of the several sources, it was made easier to come to a conclusion in agreeing or disagreeing if fracking should be used to release oil and gas or not.

The nation is shifting towards electricity generated by natural gas- over the past ten years 81 percent of new electricity capacity has been gas fired- and state governments are playing regulatory catch-up with the drilling technology’s rapid expansion to meet this burgeoning demand”. (http://www.gracelinks.org/191/natural-gas-fracking-introduction) However; to meet this demand, gas and oil companies have ignored some rather important harmful effects of hydraulic fracturing. These harmful effects include; water droughts, increased pollution, the spread of toxins, and possible negative influence on local economies. Water droughts because of the fracking process are caused by using up to approximately one-hundred times more water than previous drilling methods. This means that gradually less and less of the world where drilling is active or was active will have the ability to attain non chemical induced water. The article, “List of Pros and Cons of Fracking” published by Occupy Theory states that, “Anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of fracking waste water flows back to the original drilling surface” (http://occupytheory.org/list-of-pros-and-cons-of-fracking/) Hydraulic fracturing causes pollution in several different aspects. Oil and gas companies are not required to provide a list of chemicals used in the process which causes those in the areas where drilling is present to not be able to adapt correctly to these toxins. According to research, a few of the chemicals that have been found present in fracking include; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. These three chemicals are known to the scientific community to cause harmful effects on the health of people. Also, the article, “Pros and Cons of Fracking: 5 Key Issues” explains that because of the dropping gas prices, drilling use will

For more than sixty years, oil and gas companies have been fracturing shale rock far below the earth’s surface in order to release pockets of natural gas. The extraction of shale gas from wells dates back to 1821; but the revolutionary procedure of hydraulic fracturing—injecting pressurized fluid into shale rock to create fissures—was commercialized in the 1950s. New drilling techniques, created in the 1970s, reach previously inaccessible shale gas by allowing the use of horizontal piping within the wells. While the United States is currently dependent on foreign countries for natural resources, a hope for independence has led companies to further explore hydraulic fracturing, redefining the way that natural resources are

B.Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, is a method of oil and natural gas extraction used to release natural gas that can be converted into energy. A mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is injected into shale formations thousands of feet below the surface returning with an untapped flow either gas or oil. Essentially, it is a relatively inexpensive and increasingly common method of energy

Fracking is a controversial topic of discussion for a majority of people. Fracking is also known as hydraulic fracturing which is a method of extracting natural gas stored in shale rock. It involves forcing rock to fracture by pumping millions of liters of water and chemicals at extremely high pressure into the ground. The technique of fracking has been known since the 1940’s. Prices of natural gas and other fuels are rising steadily. Fracking has been used more than a million times in the USA alone.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing is a method used to extract underground resources including oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy by injecting high pressure fluid into a geologic formation containing oil or natural gas deposits. The high pressure fluid opens up existing fractures and creates new fracture systems that allow the resources that were once trapped to move more freely into a production well for further extraction.

Fracking is a newer method used in the oil and natural gas industry to reach resources under shale deep in the ground. Hydraulic Fracturing is the scientific name for fracking, it loosens hydrocarbons from shale by blasting water, sand, and chemicals into the ground. There are numerous pros and cons to this method. Many people are questioning what fracking actually is, the environmental effects, the cause of the surplus of earthquakes, where it is happening, and if there is anything being done about it. There are four main steps to hydraulic fracturing or “slick water fracking”.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of drilling into the Earth and subsequently directly a high-pressure water, sand, and chemical mixture at shale rock to release the gas inside, out through the head of the well.

Swarm, Frack F. "Fracking and Water Pollution." - SourceWatch. Fracking and Water Pollution, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.With the public worried about a lot of water being used in fracking, oil and gas drilling. Some of the companies have begun to reusing and recycling the usedwater. The natural-gas company uses many different ways of recycle drilling wastewater. Some of the drillers have used recycling equipment at the well site or has been shipped to a water recycling facility. When the water is received the used water is then filtered, evaporated, and then distilled. It will then be used again at the well. Other companies may add some fresh water to the used water, to dilute the salts and other contaminants,

The main environmental effects that hydraulic fracking could have on a local environment are largely, ground water contamination, aesthetic appeal, and the risk of a seismic activity increase in the local area. All three of these issues would, clearly, have a negative impact on a local environment. The contamination of ground water is a legitimate question to ask and concern to be addressed. When comparing conventional oil drilling to non-conventional oil drilling in terms of water contamination, the unconventional method of fracking looks to be safer. The drilling of fracking is much deeper within the earth than more conventional drilling methods. There are several impermeable levels of rock and material that prevents gas and oil from reaching the water table. With conventional drilling, there is an impermeable level of rock between the gas and oil pocket, however, it is much closer to the water table than the location of the fracking. Even though the actual location of the extraction of the oil and gas is generally further from the water table, studies have shown that it is probable that water can still be contaminated through fracking. “The authors of the PNAS study conclude that the contamination they document is likely the result of “… poor well construction.” This quote suggests that the reason for the contamination in the ground water is because of poor construction of wells due to demand and production rates. Another view comes from