You may have heard about fracking in relation to mining and drilling of energy sources like oil and gas and may be wondering what this is. Well, fracking is a common method employed by many mining and drilling companies to extract oil and gas from their wells. The practice entails the use of a highly pressurized liquid substance that is flashed down the wells at high pressure to open them up. The mining companies have failed to state which chemicals it is that they use in the mixture. However, it is well known that water for fracking is a major component of the liquid mixture.
The purpose of using this highly pressurized liquid mixture that mainly comprises of water, sand and other chemicals like boric acid is to open up the rocks and create fractures. Opening up the fractures enables oil and gas to flow out of the rocks freely without hindrance. After removing the hydraulic pressure, the proponents of the mixture like sand particles help keep the fractures open.
The amount of water consumed in this process is substantially massive. It takes about 2 to 8 million gallons of water to frack out a single well. However, some wells tend to use much more than this. In some cases too, there are wells that require fracking more than once. This means using huge amounts of fluid gallons that is fresh from our water cycle.
The use of such large amounts of this precious commodity that is mainly gotten from our supply points like the rivers and local storage areas means danger to our cycle. The liquid used in these activities cannot be recycled from the contamination it goes through. Though companies have failed to disclose what components they have in their pressurized liquid mixture, samples from the well sites show signs of chemicals such as acetic, boric and citric acids.
These huge amounts of water means that transportation is necessary to move the fluid to the mining site as well as carry the waste from the wells away. In order to accomplish such a large goal, you need to have around 500 tankers to ferry the fluid and waste for a single well.
For a single eighteen wheeler truck, it can weigh about 80000lbs. Now considering that you have over 500 of these truckloads on the same road would mean disaster on that way. The end result is that the city or state will end up having to do the repairs. However, some companies ought to do these themselves.
Approximately half the liquid substance used in fracking is returned to the well surface. It is then stored in steel tanks for protection and away for reach by humans and animals. This composition is dangerous as it has been noted to cause contamination in areas around the storage facilities or tanks.
The other half is perceived to remain underground or where else could it go? A great guess is that this later on circulates back to the cycle hence contaminating it. The cases of contamination around the areas where fracking has occurred are many.
The purpose of using this highly pressurized liquid mixture that mainly comprises of water, sand and other chemicals like boric acid is to open up the rocks and create fractures. Opening up the fractures enables oil and gas to flow out of the rocks freely without hindrance. After removing the hydraulic pressure, the proponents of the mixture like sand particles help keep the fractures open.
The amount of water consumed in this process is substantially massive. It takes about 2 to 8 million gallons of water to frack out a single well. However, some wells tend to use much more than this. In some cases too, there are wells that require fracking more than once. This means using huge amounts of fluid gallons that is fresh from our water cycle.
The use of such large amounts of this precious commodity that is mainly gotten from our supply points like the rivers and local storage areas means danger to our cycle. The liquid used in these activities cannot be recycled from the contamination it goes through. Though companies have failed to disclose what components they have in their pressurized liquid mixture, samples from the well sites show signs of chemicals such as acetic, boric and citric acids.
These huge amounts of water means that transportation is necessary to move the fluid to the mining site as well as carry the waste from the wells away. In order to accomplish such a large goal, you need to have around 500 tankers to ferry the fluid and waste for a single well.
For a single eighteen wheeler truck, it can weigh about 80000lbs. Now considering that you have over 500 of these truckloads on the same road would mean disaster on that way. The end result is that the city or state will end up having to do the repairs. However, some companies ought to do these themselves.
Approximately half the liquid substance used in fracking is returned to the well surface. It is then stored in steel tanks for protection and away for reach by humans and animals. This composition is dangerous as it has been noted to cause contamination in areas around the storage facilities or tanks.
The other half is perceived to remain underground or where else could it go? A great guess is that this later on circulates back to the cycle hence contaminating it. The cases of contamination around the areas where fracking has occurred are many.
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