Fracking Process

Introduction

Fracking is a procedure that uses high-pressure fluids to obtain shale gas through the drilling of underground rocks. According to Broderick et all (2011), shale gas1 is found trapped within the shale2 formations, it is a very flexible substance as it has a wide range of uses, such as automobile fuels, domestic use and power generation. Nowadays, the gas demand is increasing vastly. Shale gas is one of the main sources of energy for some countries, such as United States of America and United Kingdom (Broderick et al. 2011). The low permeability3 of the shale makes difficult the flow of the gas inside it, therefore, it makes inviable to extract the substance without the support of hydraulic fracturing. Higher the permeability of a rock, higher the flowing of the fluid on it (King 2012). In order to improve the shale gas extraction, a high pressure mixture of water, sand and other additives is injected in the rock to increase its fractures and facilitates the flowing of the gas and its capture (Howarth et al. 2011). The figure below illustrates the fracking process.

Figure 1 - Fracking process illustration. A high-pressure fluid is injected into shale formation in the underground. The fluid helps to increase the permeability of the shale and release the shale gas.

The concerns involving fracking and shale gas are

Then the gas goes through its following processes (such as refining and transporting) and the mixture becomes waste. It also applies a significant quantity of diesel in its process, what increases the air pollution with gases, such as Benzene which is a toxic and the exposure to it can implicate in health problems (Howarth et al. 2011). During the fracking, the escaping of hydrocarbons such as benzene can increase the concentration of gases in the environment. Most of these gases are harmful to