Fracking

Recent advances in drilling and fracking technologies have made the access to huge deposits of natural gas in shale deposits technically and economically feasible. These are located across the United States and elsewhere [19,20], and thus shale gas production has grown about 48% per year from 2006 to 2010 in the United States. This fact will influence the American and the world energy outlooks for the near future, together with the variation in the oil price [21]. The... 

Aaron, H.S., Uyeda, R.T., Frack, H.F., and Miller, J.I., The stereochemistry of asymmetric phosphorus compounds. IV. The synthesis and stereochemistry of displacement reactions of optically active isopropyl methylphosphonochlo-ridate, /. Am. Chem. Soc., 84, 617, 1962. 

High Pressure adn Volume Compressed Air to Frack Formation... 

Lindvall O, Brundin P, Widner H, Rehncrona S, Gustavii B, Frack-owiak R, Leenders KL, Sawle G, Rothwell JC, Marsden CD, et al. (1990) Grafts of fetal dopamine neurons survive and improve motor function in Parkinson s disease. Science 247 574—577. 

The second key innovation that has allowed fracking to grow so fast in recent years is the ability to drill wells horizontally. Technically any well that isn t vertical is called directional or slant drilling. Hydraulic fracturing can release trapped natural gas from a much wider area this way, which has led to the recent surge in this technique. 

Period Actual Demand Forecast Forecast Error Absolute Error MAD Fracking Signal... 

Unfortunately, the potential for environmental damage from fracking is significant. The large volume of fracking fluid required to create a well must be returned to the surface. Without purification the fluid is rendered unfit for other uses, and... 

A Figure 18.22 A schematic of a well site employing fracking. The yellow arrows indicate the avenues through which contaminants enter the environment. 

The many environmental issues surrounding the practice of fracking have generated widespread concern and adverse public reaction. Fracking represents yet one more instance of the conflict between those who advocate the availability of low cost energy and those who are more focused on sustaining long term the quality of the environment. 

Water supplies may be impacted by the practice of fracking, in which water laden with sand and a variety of chemicals is pumped at high pressure into rock formations to release natural gas and other petroleum materials. 

Describe the process of fracking and name its potential adverse environmental effects. (Section 18.4)... 

From study of Figure 18.22 describe the various ways in which operation of a fracking well site could lead to environmental contamination. 

Considerable fracking of petroleum/gas wells (see Closer Look box in Section 18.4) has occurred in recent years in a particular rural area. The residents have complained that the water in the residential wells serving their domestic water needs has become contaminated with chemicals associated with the fracking operations. The well operators respond that the chemicals about which complaints are lodged occur naturally, and are not the result of well-drilling activities. 

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