Presently, the world, by a large extent depends on petroleum energy sources. Nearly each activity that humans undertake has the use of petroleum energy involved to some extent. As a matter of fact, there exist nations whose entire economies depend on products of petroleum. It is in light of this that little variations in oil and oil product prices often significantly affect the economy of the world.
As a result of the high dependence on petroleum products, extraction continues to be researched to come up with more efficient methods. Research aims to maximize on production while lowering cost. One of the most recent technologies that have been invented to be used in extracting oil is called fracking. Even though it is very effective, there are efforts to achieve clean fracking technology.
The word fracking is used as the short form for the term hydrauling fracturing. This process involves underground injection of chemicals, water, and sand to crack opening rock layers to emit gas and oil. The water, chemicals, and sand are pumped inside wells at high pressure for generation of required force to crack rocks.
Other names that are used to refer to this technology include hydrofracturing, hydrofracking, and fraccing. The mixture of sand, water, and chemicals is referred to as fracking fluid. After the cracks have been created by the fluid, petroleum, brine, and natural gas can then flow more freely. When hydraulic pressure is eventually removed from the wells, the fractures created remain open. They are held open by tiny grans of hydraulic fracturing proppants.
Although the fraccing process only gained popularity in the mid-2000s, its history is very long, dating multiple decades ago. The oil industry has used this method as back as 1949. The method was been used to improve gas flow in wells in areas such as Kansas. However, ways of combining fraccing and horizontal drills for oil extraction at considerable costs were only discovered by oil companies in the US in the 2000s.
There is heavy use of chemicals in the whole process. It is for this reason that fraccing cannot fall under the class of environmentally friendly or clean technologies at the moment. However, there are initiatives directed at making it increasingly environmentally friendly. Research in one of the methods directed at reducing pollution has it that using recycled brine or water can be made possible by using friction reducing additives.
The drilling and pumping processes involved in oil extraction use heavy pieces of equipment that use diesel engines. These engines emit a lot of carbon into the air as well as harmful pollutants. By replacing diesel engines with engines that use natural gas or some other cleaner sources of energy, this process can be made significantly cleaner. Also, this would cut costs by about 40 percent.
A major concern in sites where oil is extracted is emission of methane. It has been recently discovered that much methane gas makes its way into the air. A study discovered that in excess of 50 percent of methane makes its way into the atmosphere above the official estimates given by the US government. The process can be made cleaner by finding methods of checking the leakage of methane into the air.
As a result of the high dependence on petroleum products, extraction continues to be researched to come up with more efficient methods. Research aims to maximize on production while lowering cost. One of the most recent technologies that have been invented to be used in extracting oil is called fracking. Even though it is very effective, there are efforts to achieve clean fracking technology.
The word fracking is used as the short form for the term hydrauling fracturing. This process involves underground injection of chemicals, water, and sand to crack opening rock layers to emit gas and oil. The water, chemicals, and sand are pumped inside wells at high pressure for generation of required force to crack rocks.
Other names that are used to refer to this technology include hydrofracturing, hydrofracking, and fraccing. The mixture of sand, water, and chemicals is referred to as fracking fluid. After the cracks have been created by the fluid, petroleum, brine, and natural gas can then flow more freely. When hydraulic pressure is eventually removed from the wells, the fractures created remain open. They are held open by tiny grans of hydraulic fracturing proppants.
Although the fraccing process only gained popularity in the mid-2000s, its history is very long, dating multiple decades ago. The oil industry has used this method as back as 1949. The method was been used to improve gas flow in wells in areas such as Kansas. However, ways of combining fraccing and horizontal drills for oil extraction at considerable costs were only discovered by oil companies in the US in the 2000s.
There is heavy use of chemicals in the whole process. It is for this reason that fraccing cannot fall under the class of environmentally friendly or clean technologies at the moment. However, there are initiatives directed at making it increasingly environmentally friendly. Research in one of the methods directed at reducing pollution has it that using recycled brine or water can be made possible by using friction reducing additives.
The drilling and pumping processes involved in oil extraction use heavy pieces of equipment that use diesel engines. These engines emit a lot of carbon into the air as well as harmful pollutants. By replacing diesel engines with engines that use natural gas or some other cleaner sources of energy, this process can be made significantly cleaner. Also, this would cut costs by about 40 percent.
A major concern in sites where oil is extracted is emission of methane. It has been recently discovered that much methane gas makes its way into the air. A study discovered that in excess of 50 percent of methane makes its way into the atmosphere above the official estimates given by the US government. The process can be made cleaner by finding methods of checking the leakage of methane into the air.
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