According to Earthworks, Hydraulic fracturing is a common technique used to stimulate the production of oil and natural gas. According to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, 90 percent of the gas wells in the US undergo fracturing, to stimulate production.
This video explains the process a little bit better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB3FOJjpy7s
According to Hydraulicfracturing.com, natural gas is primarily methane (CH4). Its purity makes it an environmentally friendly fuel. Methane is a nonreactive hydrocarbon, which means its emissions do not react with sunlight to create smog. Compressed natural gas (CNG) is nontoxic, noncarcinogenic and noncorrosive.
Natural gas is lighter than air, making it a safe fuel for many applications. Any leakage will quickly dissipate into the atmosphere, reducing the risk of an explosion as compared to liquid fuels, which can pool on the ground or pollute our groundwaters.
A mix of ingredients and other additives are used in fluids to allow hydraulic fracturing to be performed in a safe and effective manner. Additives used in hydraulic fracturing fluids include a number of compounds found in common consumer products.
The website also provided us with a graph, that helps visualize what happens. Following the graph is a quick explanation:
A representation showing the percent by volume composition of typical deep shale natural gas, or oil hydraulic fracturing fluid components (see graphic) reveals that approximately 98% of the fracturing mixture is comprised of freshwater and sand. This mixture is injected into deep shale formations and is typically confined by many thousands of feet of rock layers.
Fracturing operations may have significant impacts on surrounding communities. Experts cite risks of toxic spills of fracturing chemicals, and pollution of air or water, among other impacts. Fracturing operations involve the movement, storage, and disposal of millions of gallons of water and thousands to tens of thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals. But because of a lack of transparency, it can be very difficult to learn what chemicals are used by companies. Spills, regulatory penalties, and litigation linked to fracturing operations in been reported in several states where natural gas companies are active. Media attention to fracturing and levels of public concern about potential environmental impacts have skyrocketed since 2007.
There are many vies and opinions towards this matter, CHEVRON has a whole page on why it is good and what are its benefits. They claim “energy companies have combined two established technologies—hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling—to successfully unlock this resource.”
This video is a cry out against Hydraulic fracturing, I thought it was an interesting video to watch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au4p7clRk-Y
Popular Mechanics also made sure to publish some “hard facts” on hydraulic fracturing: “Natural gas doesn’t run our lives: As a fossil fuel used to generate electricity, it’s in a distant second place behind coal. But with new domestic gas sources—much of it made available thanks to hydraulic fracturing—that all could change, along with (someday) the way you cook your food, heat your home or even drive your car. Here’s a look at the facts behind this controversial new way to get to U.S. gas.”
Popular Mechanics is very good about laying out the facts in a simple and clear way to understand, check it out Hydraulic Fracturing – Fracking Natural Gas – Popular Mechanics
I personally do not have a strong and direct opinion formed on the matter. I really need to read more and research more; yet, for what its worth, to me, anything that we men mess around with too much and invent and find new ways to extract and develop and find is NOT good and does NOT have my approval.
Who knows, I might change my mind. But this is something I will definitely look into because of the fact that I don’t think it has enough exposure, especially in relation to how important and how dramatic it is.
REFERENCES:
http://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing
http://www.chevron.com/deliveringenergy/naturalgas/shalegas/?gclid=CIHL0tmLja4CFaYQNAodCxHogQ
http://www.hydraulicfracturing.com/Fracturing-Ingredients/Pages/information.aspx
http://iehn.org/overview.naturalgashydraulicfracturing.php
Our lab Today consisted of understanding how coiled wires generate electricity. Our lab was quiet simple, we began by setting up our generator to our NXT and we were ready to begin. The experiment aimed towards seeing that the faster the tube is shaken, the greater voltage will be generated.
In order to find that out, groups were in charge of correlating the number of shakes of the generator, in a thirty second time interval, with the voltages (or more precisely the sum of the square of the voltages) that the generator generated.
To be able to analyze this correctly, we repeated the procedure 4 times.
We began by shaking measuring the tube as it shook 0 times. Then we went on to shake the tube 22 times at a specific rate. As we moved on to the next trial, this rate increased. Our second trial consisted of 32 times and our forth trial of 42.
To find the sum of the squares of the generated voltages (SSGV’s) we inserted the data calculated by LabView into Excel. The following table shows the data gathered:
This information then needs to be passed on to a graph so we can make our conclusions, so we copied the number of shakes and the sum of squares of voltages to a new excel sheet. Our x axis becomes the number of shakes and our y axis is the sum of the square of the voltages. This is the graph that we created:
In conclusion, the more shakes the more voltage!
wow! very informative site…statistics really prove…we also have a same topics but a video type about drilling fluid containment i am looking forward for the updates of this site.
Your blog was very informative and easy to comprehend! Good job!