Rather, as a consequence of injecting water and sand into the shale formation to crack the rocks so gas and oil will flow, massive amounts of waste water comes back to the surface with significant amounts of contaminants as a result of leaching out salt, heavy metals and trace amounts of radioactive materials from the rock formation itself.
They had been protesting at a site in Hesketh Bank operated by energy firm Cuadrilla which was given a licence in 2008 to extract gas by pumping water, sand and chemicals into shale rock at pressure.
BBC: Hesketh Bank fracking rig protesters guilty of trespass
Under the process of fracking, oil or gas is extracted from shale rock by pumping a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into the rock at high pressure.
Fracking involves injecting water, sand and some chemicals deep into the earth to crack shale rock, which frees oil and gas.
Fracking pushes water, chemicals, and sand into the well to expose the gasses trapped in the shale.
This part of Texas is in the core of the Eagle Ford s hale, currently the most profitable oil and gas field in the U.S. The people around here understand that the fracking of this shale, the injection of billions of gallons of sand-and-chemical-laden water, takes place 2 miles beneath the ground.
U.S. Silica specializes in commercial silica used in a variety of industries, the most prominent being "frac sand" to stimulate oil and gas recovery in formations such as shale.
Fracking involves drilling horizontally into the rock, forcing sand and water underground to cause tiny fractures that release gas from the shale.
BBC: NI shale gas deposits 'could be worth ?80bn' says report
More than 10 drillers have already received Department of Environmental Protection permission to use mine discharges for fracking, a technique in which millions of gallons of water, along with chemical additives and sand, are pumped down a well to break apart gas-bearing shale deposits.
Hydraulic fracturing pumps many thousands of gallons of mainly water and sand, with a few chemicals, at high pressure into tight gas-bearing shale deposits (hardened muds), creating cracks that allow gas to flow back up the well to the surface ( Shale Shock).
On reaching the shale, the mixture of water and fracking fluid bursts open the rock and the sand keeps the fractures open, allowing the gas to flow to the surface.
Shale gas is natural gas that is trapped inside shale rock and is extracted by using a technology called hydraulic fracturing, where highly pressurized water mixed with sand and chemicals is used to crack open rocks.
FORBES: Will ConocoPhillips Help China Tap Its Shale Gas Reserves?
应用推荐