Hydraulic Fracking (Essay Sample)

Name:
Professor:
Course:
Date:
Hydraulic Fracking
Hydraulic fracking refers to process in which rock is broken into pieces under the action of high pressure generated from hydraulically pressurized liquid (a liquid moving in a confined under pressure). The hydraulic fracking process is often applied to extract natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations, tight gas produced from reservoir impermeable rocks, petroleum with light crude oil and methane gas (Charlez pg239-242). According to Charlez, the experiment on procedures to be used in this process began as early as 1947 and the first achievement on commercial using this process was in 1949.According to the Agency of International Energy, approximately 5 million hydraulic fracking technique had been performed in the world on energy generating sites in the year 2012.Hydraulic fracking issue is an important area to focus on since despite the fact that it contributes to generation of huge amounts of energy, it also brings an area of concern on human and environment safety. This paper will look at the process, methods and chemicals used in fracking process and the types of energy harvested using this process.
Hydraulic fracking Definition and process
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), hydraulic fracking refers to a process through which underground oils, natural gases and water are obtained by stimulating the targeted rock using fluids under high pressure. Mooney (pg80-84) explain that the fracking hydraulic process starts with building the necessary site infrastructure including well construction. The wells are made by drilling a vertical hole many feet below the land surface and made drill can have horizontal or directional sections prolonged thousands of feet. Large amounts of fluids at high pressure are then injected down in the drilled hole and into the targeted rock formation in order to create cracks. Charlez (pg238), states that the fluid which is pumped in to the well to activate cracking within the rock formation is made of water, proppants and chemical additives. . The proppants which is made of sand, ceramic pellets and incompressible small particles holds open the newly formed cracks preventing them from blocking when pumping is ceased and pressure withdrawn.
Michael (pg 2-3), explains that when the cracking process is over, the internal pressure of the geologic formation cause the pumped fracking fluids to rise to the surface where it is collected and stored in containers or pits after which it is treated, recycled or disposed. He states that the collected fracking fluids are referred to as flowback and produced water and they may contain pumped chemicals in addition to naturally occurring materials like brine, metals, radio-nuclides and hydrocarbons. Flowback fluids are disposed by either being injected into underground or by treating it and releasing it to water surface.
According to Valerie (pg115) surface water discharges of the flowback are regulated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, which ensures flowback is treated before being released into surface water. The treatment procedure is carried out by facilities that treat water with wastes. On the hand, procedures for disposing flowback by underground injection are regulated by either EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) program or a state with primary UIC enforcement authority.
Methods of Hydraulic fracking
According to Mooney (pg83-84), low volume hydraulic fracking which is also called conventional fracking is a method of fracking which is used to stimulate single well reservoirs which are highly permeable. Wells are shallow in this type of fracking and this implies that lower hydraulic pressure is used. The other method of fracking is called high volume, also known as unconventional/ massive hydraulic fracking and as Mooney state, the wells in this type of fracking method extend far downwards and need more hydraulic pressure. Pan American Petroleum in Oklahoma in United States of America is said to have bee the first energy producing company to use massive fracking method in the year1968. The unconventional fracking method is used in completion of natural gas that found trapped within shale formations and tight gas produced from impermeable and non porous reservoir rocks. Fracking methods can also be classified in relation to the direction in which the drill is made for example slant drilling is where non vertical wells are created. Slant drilling is divided into oilfield directional drilling, horizontal directional drilling and surface in seam drilling which horizontally intersects targeted coal bed vertically (King pg95-96).Charlez ( pg241-243) explain that oilfield directional drilling is used in extracting petroleum in areas with a lot of oil wells and it involves creating of scattered wells across the area.
Chemicals Used
As Valerie (pg114) states, different fracking companies have unique formulations of chemicals which they use during process of hydraulic fracking of which each of these chemical has significant role in the process. Hydrochloric or Muriatic acid which has the function of cleaning perforation intervals of rock and cracks made before fracking fluid is injected is one of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracking. Peroxydisulphate is used as a breaker and reduces the viscosity of the fluid in order to release the proppant into cracks and promote the recovering of fracking fluid. Gluteraldehyde (2-Bromo-2-nitro-1,2-propanediol) is used as biocide and it has a role of preventing growth of organisms that can produce hydrogen sulphide gas which contaminates methane gas and also inhibits growth of bacteria which can slow the ability of the fluid to transfer proppant into the cracks. Valerie states that sodium or potassium carbonate solution is used to regulate the pH of the fluid in order to maximize the activity of other chemicals used in hydraulic fracking process.
According to Michael (pg4-5), methanol is used as corrosion inhibiting agent and prevents rust formation on steel tubing, well casings, tools, and tanks and also it reduces fracking fluid surface tension which help in fluid recovery. Several aromatic hydrocarbons are used as solvent to prevent contact surfaces from being wet. Ammonium chloride, ethylene glycol and poly-acrylate are used to inhibit the precipitation of calcium carbonates and sulfates of calcium and barium which if allowed forming can act as a barrier to the target rock formation to be cracked. Michael further explains that guar gum and petroleum distillate are used as the gelling agent and their purpose is to raise fracking fluid viscosity in order to enable the fluid to carry more proppant into the cracks. Salts such as tetraethyl ammonium chloride and potassium chloride are used as clay stabilizing agents to prevent enlargement and movement of formation clays which could block the perforations thereby reducing permeability. Potassium hydro-oxide, sodium acrylate-acrylamide copolymer, polyacrylamide and petroleum distillates are termed as crossing linking agents and their function is to maximize the rate and pressure at which fracking fluid is pumped by reducing friction as the injection process takes place .
As International Energy Agency explains, most of chemicals used in fracking process are harmful to both humans as well as to wildlife. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, glycol ethers, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide and petroleum distillates which contains compounds of benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene and naphthalene are among of the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracking and are said to be agents that stimulate development of cancer in humans.
  Poisonous substances such as petroleum distillates which mainly consist of kerosene and diesel fuel which in turn contain benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene and other chemicals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, glycol ethers, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide are capable of affecting human health negatively. The chemical used in fracking also are sources of water and air pollution as stated by Valerie (pg116).He states that small amounts of frackin...