Water Contamination Caused By Hydraulic Fracturing

Water Contamination Due to Hydraulic Fracturing in Pennsylvania Natural gas is a fossil fuel that plays a critical role in the demand and supply of energy in the United States. It is considered to be a clean burning transition fuel. Compared to coal and oil, natural gas combustion does not generate as much pollution and is therefore considered an ideal partner for renewable energy resources. Natural gas is extracted from shale formations underground that require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – â€Å"hydrofracking† or â€Å"fracking†. This drilling and extraction method is currently considered a global widespread issue due to the rapid increase in the amount of new gas wells that threatens the quality of water around the source (Entriken, Evans-White, Johnson Hagenbuch, 2011). 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 proppant s and â€Å"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 â€Å"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). BecauseShow MoreRelatedHydraulic Fracturing And Its Effects On The Environment1737 Words   |  7 PagesHydraulic Fracturing has led to less cases of contamination than any other method of oil extraction, which is contrary to popular belief. There have been many useful regulations that turned a once feared industry to an environmentally safe, highly profitable industry. Hydraulic Fracturing is worth the risks it poses on the environment, because it will bolster the U.S. economy and foreign policy, provide billions of Petroleum barrels and trillions of square feet of natural gas, and it is not as harmfulRead MoreHydraulic Fracturing Essay696 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is Hydraulic Fracturing Contrary to popular belief’s Hydraulic Fracturing is not a drilling process .It is the series of steps that are used after the drilling of hole in the ground is completed to create or restore small fractures or opening in the reservoir rock formation .These small fractures or opening in the reservoir are mainly used to extract –petroleum, natural gas ( such as shale gas , tight gas , and coal seam) ,water And natural substances This process was first used in 1947Read MoreThe United States Of The Industrial Revolution1720 Words   |  7 Pagesadvanced enough to drill into these rocks, until the 1970s and 1980s. Companies worked endlessly finding a way to allow shale rocks to release the gas that they held. Companies eventually came up with a practice called hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking; this process utilizes water pressure to fracture or break a rock in order to release and collect fuel such as gas or oil. In recent years, companies have mixed sand, chemicals and other proponents to retrieve the maximum amount of gas that eachRead MoreHydraulic Fracturing And Its Effects1500 Words   |  6 Pagesand, as they have done countless times, the sister partially blocks the water flow so her brother can toddle through the spray. However, today she notices a strange odor permeating from the spigot. She doesn’t think anything of it until the smell worsens, at which time she promptly tells her mother. Horrified, her mother rushes to scoop up her son to go wash him in their bath tub. When she turns on the tap to draw the water, she again smells the odor. Distraught, the mother towel dries her childRead MoreThe Effects of Fracking on the Environment Essay913 Words   |  4 Pagesenvironmentalists. Indeed, hydraulic fracturing, as it is referred to, is a process by which shale gas and oil is uprooted from a depth far below the earth’s exterior. The process of extracting shale gas and oil is employed aggressively while water is forced deep beneath the earth surface through a geological arrangement. From this arrangement, oil and gas is exerted back to the earth’s surface. Moreover, once the hydraulic fracturing process is completed, there is a residue of contaminated water. SubsequentlyRead MoreHydraulic Fracturing And Its Effects On The Environment1467 Words   |  6 PagesHydraulic Fracturing Introduction For this assignment I have chosen to look in to a subject that is in the news media spotlight. The subject is the process of hydraulic fracturing. In this paper, we will learn about this process by answering the following questions. First what is hydraulic fracturing and what is the process used for. Then we will look at the actual process of hydraulic fracturing (how it works). Next we will take a closer look at some of the chemical use during the hydraulic fracturingRead MoreHydraulic Fracturing Of Natural Gas1342 Words   |  6 Pagesas hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is a drilling method where high volumes of chemicals mixed with water are injected into the naturally occurring surface cracks. This is done all in an effort to release the small pockets of natural gas trapped within these surface cracks. In recent years, throughout the Midwest, hydraulic fracturing has been linked to the contamination of many farmers and homeowner’s wells. There have been reports of triggered earthquakes as a result of hydraulic fracturingRead MoreAlternative Energy Sources1852 Words   |  7 Pagesof the energy source through the process of hydraulic fracturing. In this report the following topics will be discussed to get a better understanding of natural gas and the hydraulic fracturing process. An overview of natural gas will be discussed. A detail description of the hydraulic fracturing process will be provided. The advantages and disadvantages of hydraulic fracturing will also be compared. Finally the report will look at hydraulic fracturing in a South Africa context and weigh all theRead MoreThe Crisis Of The Fukushima Nuclear Plant After An Earthquake1566 Words   |  7 Pagessuccessful development techniques of hydraulic fracturing has showcased as a solution to solve these problems altogether. We now gain access to the 100 years worth of energy in the form of natural gas underneath the surface of our backyard. The belief that these domestic natural gas deposits will provide us time and help build a bridge to cleaner energy for the future. However, people do not understand what hydraulic fracturing is or how it works. â€Å"Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, forces naturalRead MoreThe Argument Against Hydraulic Fracturing1378 Words   |  6 PagesArgument against Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic Fracturing is the process in which a borehole is made on earth, and the Shale rock is broken in order to harvest natural gas by drilling pipes vertically,and horizontally.Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking draws in the addition of more than a million gallons of water,sand,and chemicals being added below earth s surface at a high pressure down a vertical,and horizontal pipeline.As the mixture travels down the pipe it breaks the Shale rock realising