At the moment, the world is hugely reliant on petroleum sources of energy. Almost every process that human beings engage in involves some level of use of petroleum energy. In fact, there are some countries whose entire economies are dependent on petroleum products. That is why a slight change in the prices of oil and oil products usually causes a rippling effect in the world economy.
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.
Fraccing, hydro fracking, and hydro fracturing are the other names used in reference to this technology. The mixture of chemicals, water, and sand is called fracking fluid. After the fluids have created the cracks, free flow of gas is allowed for by natural gas, brine, and petroleum. After the removal of hydraulic pressure from the wells, the fractures that are formed are left open. Tiny grains of hydraulic fracturing proppants are used to hold fractures open.
Even though the process of fraccing only became popular in the mid-2000s, it has a very long history that dates several decades back. This technology has been in use in the oil industry as back as 1949. It was used to increase flow of gas in wells in places like Kansas. However, in 2000s, oil companies in the United States find ways of combing fraccing with horizontal drilling to extract oil at a reasonable cost.
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.
Methane emission is a major concern in oil extraction sites. Recently, it has been established that a lot of methane gas escapes into the air. In fact, a study found that more than 50 percent of methane escapes into the air than official estimates provided by the US government. By finding ways of curbing the escape of methane gas, the process can become much cleaner.
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.
Fraccing, hydro fracking, and hydro fracturing are the other names used in reference to this technology. The mixture of chemicals, water, and sand is called fracking fluid. After the fluids have created the cracks, free flow of gas is allowed for by natural gas, brine, and petroleum. After the removal of hydraulic pressure from the wells, the fractures that are formed are left open. Tiny grains of hydraulic fracturing proppants are used to hold fractures open.
Even though the process of fraccing only became popular in the mid-2000s, it has a very long history that dates several decades back. This technology has been in use in the oil industry as back as 1949. It was used to increase flow of gas in wells in places like Kansas. However, in 2000s, oil companies in the United States find ways of combing fraccing with horizontal drilling to extract oil at a reasonable cost.
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.
Methane emission is a major concern in oil extraction sites. Recently, it has been established that a lot of methane gas escapes into the air. In fact, a study found that more than 50 percent of methane escapes into the air than official estimates provided by the US government. By finding ways of curbing the escape of methane gas, the process can become much cleaner.
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