BRITTMAN
Well-known member
The crude oil rail cars in Cassleton, ND that spilled / burned should not contaminate the aquifers nor any lake / stream if handled correctly.
Fracking, what will this do to the future of no only animals but people too
- Thread starter onpoint
- Start date
The crude oil rail cars in Cassleton, ND that spilled / burned should not contaminate the aquifers nor any lake / stream if handled correctly.
Gas is not filling in where water once was. They exist together in any coal bed methane reservoir. Where you have coal you have gas, which is why coal mines occasionally blow up.
The surface of the gas molecules is tightly bonded to the surface of the pore walls by an electrochemical process called adsorption (not to be confused with absorption, which is something entirely different). There is also free gas within the pores and gas in solution with formation fluid (water). The pressure of the water helps to promote and maintain the electrochemical bond between the adsorbed gas molecules and the pore walls.
When the water is pumped out of the reservoir the pressure is reduced, and at some point the electrochemical adsorption bonds are overcome by the gas's natural tendency to be "free". The gas detaches from the pore walls and becomes free gas. This is called desorption, and is essentially the opposite of adsorption. This free gas, as well as any solution gas already dissolved in the water, is pumped to the surface along with the water.
As to the use of water, yes hydraulic fracturing uses a lot of water - there's no getting around that. These days, however, most of the spent fluids are recovered and reused when possible. The main issue I see with drilling and water quality/availability in boom areas like ND, is the tremendous influx of people into these areas.
I don't want to come across as if I'm diminishing the environmental impacts of the drilling boom in ND. I just think that the controversy surrounding process of hydraulic fracturing is taking away attention from more legitimate threats to habitat and the environment of the area. Drilling booms bring with them lot's of people. People require resources, transportation, housing, space, etc. Pollution and degradation of the environment can happen pretty quickly in an are unprepared for a huge and rapid influx of people/industry. That's where the real risk is, not in shooting water, sand, and chemicals into rocks 15,000 feet below the surface.
I can't speak to the video on fracking in Texas, because I don't know enough about that region to speak to it's geology. Comparing drilling in Texas to drilling in North Dakota is foolish. They are two entirely different reservoir systems, and the process of extracting hydrocarbons from each is likely equally different.
I choose to rely on peer reviewed scientific papers and engage in actual science, rather than wasting my time on advocacy rags like The Guardian. Real science speaks for itself, and doesn't require a YouTube account.
Cheers,:cheers:
onpoint
Active member
OAN..we are dealing with a generation guided by greed. Pointless to have a battle of wits with unarmed individuals. The whole family could get cancer and they would still kneel down and pray to a $100 bill.
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