Hydraulic fracturing or ‘hydro fracking’ refers to the use of pressurized fluid to create and exploit fissures and cracks in underground layers of rock using pressurized fluid. The practice of propagating cracks and fissures in layers of rock to discover, access, and ultimately recover underground resources dates back to 1947.

However, the modern technique called “horizontal slickwater fracturing” was introduced in 1998.In this process pressureized fluids are used against the rock, as opposed to other earlier methods. The innovation of Hydro-Fracking is significant because it makes petroleum and natural gas mining more economical, and because of the potential environmental and health hazards.

The positive economic impact of Hydro-Fracking is unquestionable. Hydro-Fracking is one of the essential methods by which the United States extracts important hydrocarbons. In fact, hydro-fracking will account for 70% of future natural gas development. Hydrocarbons, which are the principle components of petroleum and natural gas are difficult and expensive (in financial and environmental terms) to mine, which is why hydro fracturing is so significant.

On the other hand, the environmental hazards of hydro fracturing are equally well documented. The use of acids and other chemical fracturing agents can cause groundwater contamination, which can cause severe health problems if consumed. The huge volumes of water needed to hydro-frack, can also disrupt water supplies for remote villages in places like Africa, and sometimes require extensive above ground piping. This can be disruptive to both human and aquatic life in these areas.

Hydro-fracking is essential to natural gas recovery and production, which makes hydro-fracking essential to our entire economy. However, some of the potential hazards and draw backs call its sustainability into question.

references :

Charlez, Philippe A. (1997). Rock Mechanics: Petroleum Applications. Paris: Editions Technip. p. 239. ISBN 9782710805861.

“US Government Role in Shale Gas Fracking: An Overview”

Brown, Valerie J. (February 2007). “Industry Issues: Putting the Heat on Gas”. Environmental Health Perspectives (US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) 115 (2): A76. doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a76. PMC 1817691. PMID 17384744.