What is Fracking?
The Process
Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking, is a method for extracting oil and natural gas from shale rock deep underground. For each well, a wellbore is drilled a mile or more down to the shale rock layer where the oil and gas are trapped, and then horizontally for up to several miles. Large quantities of water, sand, and chemicals are blasted into these formations at pressures high enough to fracture the rock, allowing the once-trapped oil and gas to flow to the surface through the wellbore while the sand props the cracks open.
The History
Fracking has been used in the United States since the 1940s. Its use exploded in Colorado around 2015 with the advent of horizontal drilling, where the wellbore follows the shale layer as it undulates 7,000 to 8,000 feet underground. Modern wellbore laterals now reach more than 3 miles in length. Hydraulic fracturing is sometimes combined with acid fracturing, where hydrochloric acid is used to dissolve the shale rock.
The EXPLOSIONS AND LEAKS
The Impact
Billions of gallons of fresh water are consumed by fracking in Colorado each year. This process permanently pollutes our water with chemicals. These chemicals can contaminate groundwater, harm wildlife, and pose serious health risks to nearby communities.
Fracking also severely impacts public and environmental health through air pollution. Fracking releases dangerous pollutants, including diesel particulate matter, greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and toxic chemicals like benzene, formaldehyde, methane, and toluene.
The Chemicals
| CAS Number | Chemical Name |
|---|---|
| 65322-65-8 | 1-(1-Naphthylmethyl)Quinolinium Chloride |
| 2425-54-9 | 1-Chlorotetradecane |
| 1120-36-1 | 1-Tetracedene |
| 111-76-2 | 2-Butoxyethanol |
| 67-63-0 | 2-Propanol |
| 64-19-7 | Acetic Acid |
| 98-86-2 | Acetophenone |
| 25987-30-8 | Acrylamide, Sodium Acrylate Polymer |
| 9065-11-6 | Acrylic Polymer Dispersion |
| 78330-21-9 | Alcohol, C11-14, Ethoxylated |
| 120313-48-6 | Alcohols, C12-15-Branched And Linear, Ethoxylated Propoxylated |
| 68551-12-2 | Alcohols, C12-16, Ethoxylated |
| 64366-70-7 | Alkyl Oxirane Polymer |
| 7783-20-2 | Ammonium Sulfate |
| 1302-78-9 | Bentonite |
| 12280-03-4 | Boron Sodium Oxide Tetrahydrate |
| 9012-54-8 | Cellulase |
| 67-48-1 | Choline Chloride |
| 104-55-2 | Cinnamaldehyde |
| 77-92-9 | Citric Acid |
| 63148-62-9 | Dimethyl Siloxanes And Silicones |
| 34590-94-8 | Dipropylene Glycol Methyl Ether |
| 64742-53-6 | Distillates (Petroleum), Hydrotreated Light Naphthenic |
| 24938-91-8 | Ethoxylated Tridecyl Alcohol |
| 107-21-1 | Ethylene Glycol |
| 50-00-0 | Formaldehyde |
| 64-18-6 | Formic Acid |
| 9000-30-0 | Guar Gum |
| 9025-56-3 | Hemicellulase Enzyme |
| 7647-01-0 | Hydrochloric Acid |
| 64742-47-8 | Hydrotreated Light Petroleum Distillate |
| 9043-30-5 | Isotridecanol, Ethoxylated |
| 67-56-1 | Methanol |
| 127087-87-0 | Poly(Oxy-1,2-Ethanediyl), ALPha-(4-NonyLPhenyl)-Omega-Hydroxy-, Branched |
| 9003-05-8 | Polyacrylamide |
| 52624-57-4 | Polyalkylene Glycol |
| 25322-69-4 | Polypropylene Glycol |
| 108-32-7 | Propylene Carbonate |
| 57-55-6 | Propylene Glycol |
| 1340-69-8 | Quaternium 18-Bentonite |
| 224635-63-6 | Reaction Product Of: Acetophenone, Formaldehyde, Cyclohexylamine, Methanol And Acetic Acid |
| 112926-00-8 | Silica Gel |
| 14808-60-7 | Silicon Dioxide |
| 7647-14-5 | Sodium Chloride |
| 1310-73-2 | Sodium Hydroxide |
| 7681-52-9 | Sodium Hypochlorite |
| 1338-39-2 | Sorbitan Monolaurate |
| 9005-65-6 | Sorbitan Monooleate Polyoxyethylene Derivative |
| 1338-43-8 | Sorbitan, Mono-9-Octadecenoate, (Z) |
| 57-50-1 | Sucrose |
| 75-91-2 | Tert-Butyl Hydroperoxide |
| 68527-49-1 | Thiourea-Formaldehyde Copolymer |
| 814-29-9 | TributyLPhosphine Oxide |
| 81741-28-8 | Tributyl Tetradecyl Phosphonium Chloride |
| 57-13-6 | Urea |
| 7732-18-5 | Water |
| 8042-47-5 | White Mineral Oil |
Along with millions of gallons of water and hundreds of thousands of pounds of sand used to prop open cracks in the shale rock, a wide variety of chemicals are added to fracking fluid for various purposes. They include biocides, corrosion inhibitors, friction reducers, and gelling agents, as well as chemicals like hydrochloric acid used to dissolve the shale and keep the wellbore clean. The specific chemical cocktail that makes up fracking fluid varies by operator and region.
The DIAGRAM
