Peroxodisulfate regulate the viscosity of the liquid and bactericides are added to prevent the gas becoming contaminated.
Some are proppants such as sintered bauxite and zirconium oxide which help to keep the fissures open. What are the Main Chemicals used in Fracking?Ĭhemicals are added to the liquid at a rate of between 0.5 and 2.0% to perform various functions. Other escaping gases include carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde and nitrogen oxides. Consequently, environmentalists are alarmed at the detrimental effect fracking has on global warming. Methane is considered to be up to twenty-five times more harmful to the ozone layer than carbon emissions due to its effectiveness at confining heat. The greater part of it is collected but an estimated four percent escapes into the atmosphere. However, the shale gas that works its way to the surface consists primarily of methane. The explosive characteristics of fracking effectively release gas that is embedded between the layers of shale.
What is Fracking doing to the Environment? Sand, ceramic beads and chemicals known as proppants are then channelled along the shafts to help keep the fissures open as the gas or oil is forced to the surface. The ever-increasing volume of fracking liquid forces its way into the minute fissures in the shale until the rock shatters. The next stage involves vast quantities of liquid being forced under extreme pressure to enter the shafts. These generally extend to approximately eight hundred metres but they can sometimes be several kilometres in length.
When the well has reached the shale layer, drill rods are used to create multiple horizontal shafts. Fracking or hydraulic fracturing exploits shale's natural composition to encourage gas trapped between its layers to escape. Shale has a structure consisting of horizontal layers with minute channels between that are prone to fissility or splitting in a similar manner to slate. The bore hole passes through the upper layers of the earth's crust, the water table and various subterranean layers until it reaches the shale.Īs the most commonly found sedimentary rock, charcoal-coloured shale consists primarily of mud compressed together with various particles of calcite and quartz. Once geologists have identified an area that contains deposits such as shale gas, a bore hole is drilled vertically into the earth to a depth of around one mile. However, fracking has quickly become a controversial procedure due to concerns about its toxic impact on the environment and health. Mitchell himself seemed at ease with these conflicting ideas, perhaps because for his entire life he had always been a quiet contrarian.It is often employed in the oil industry for exploratory missions but its primary use is the extraction of identifiable deposits of natural shale gas or oil. This apparent contradiction between his energy interests and environmental pursuits, which his son Todd dubbed "the Mitchell Paradox," was just one of many that defined Mitchell's life. Its focus on environmental protection and livability redefined the American suburb. Long before his company ever fracked a well, he pioneered sustainable development by creating The Woodlands, near Houston, one of the first and most successful master-planned communities. Later, Mitchell worried about how the industry would handle his innovations-drilling without regard for the environment or the communities in which they operated.
He pursued its use for seventeen years to save his company and inadvertently unleashed an era of energy abundance transformed America being dependent on foreign oil to being one of the world's biggest producers of oil and natural gas. Mitchell will forever be known as "the father of fracking," but he didn't invent the drilling process he perfected it and made it profitable. Steffy offers the first definitive biography of Mitchell, placing his life and legacy in a global context and highlighting the significance of his discoveries and the lingering controversies they inspired. Mitchell: Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet, award-winning author Loren C. Rockefeller to alter the economics of oil. He did more than any other individual since John D. Boone PickensĪfter George Mitchell's death in 2013, The Economist proclaimed, "few businesspeople have done as much to change the world as George Mitchell," a billionaire Texas oilman who defied the stereotypical swagger so identified with that industry. Loren Steffy is a respected journalist who captures his spirit and legacy in great detail." - T. Because of his innovative spirit, America will remain one of the great energy super powers for decades to come. "In the rich history of America's oil and gas industry, there are some truly transformative figures, and George Mitchell is one of them. Mitchell, Fracking, Sustainability, and an Unorthodox Quest to Save the Planet