This is the clearest short summary of fracking Ive read in ages... Thank you John John Compost Cossham! Chemicals are NOT used to dissolve rock. The bore is drilled down and then goes horizontal. When in the shale, the well casing is perforated with shaped charges (directional explosives) and then the extremely high pressure water, chemicals and proppant (sand or ceramic pieces) are forced down the hole so hard that it cracks (fractures) the shale near the perforations, and when the pressure is released, the proppant keeps the fractures open, and the gas can come out, and come back up with the fracking liquid. The well is fracked many times, uses approx 6 million gallons of water per frack. The produced water which comes out needs to be treated. It contains salt, dissolved metals like lead, and low-level radiation, plus the chemicals used in the process, which are lubricants, thickeners, anti-corrosives, etc etc.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:02:15 +0000
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