The Pros And Cons Of Fracking
Can Fracking Solve the Global Energy Crisis?
Hydraulic fracturing or better known as fracking is a very contentious and cost-saving procedure in which fossil fuels are extracted from the earths crust. Instead of conventional oil drilling, it is used to exploit any possible sources of oil and natural gas, beyond the major known well sites. It was introduced in the 1940s and since then the practice has become increasingly controversial regarding its environmental impact. The pros and cons of this procedure are very much linked, making it hard to rationalise or justify either opinion. Fracking can potentially be a solution to the global energy crisis, but only if we, as humans stop procrastinating and focus on searching for more sustainable …show more content…
It is important to be located in a shale dense area because that is the rock type that commonly yields most resource (sandstone/ limestone also applicable). A drill is then inserted into the ground as by a conventional drilling, to about 1,800m to 3,000m underground where is is then rotated 90° to drill though the shale layer. Fracking itself, is a “well-stimulation technique”, wherein a pressurised hydraulically liquid (chemicals and sand mixed in water) is pumped into the well, creating microscopic fractures or ‘fissures’ in the deep-rock. The sand in the liquid then travels into the fractures and keeps them propped open allowing natural gas and crude oil to escape the rock more easily. Fracking is generally applied to drilling wells in order to exhaust the capabilities of the site because more resources per well is equivalent to more money which essentially fuels todays world. Even though, this has been proven to not be effective, people often still see it as justified in order to exploit any further resources whilst effectively prolonging the dilemma and detrimentally damaging the …show more content…
1) Jet fuel and Naphtha, which is often used as a chemical foundation. There are plenty of suitable and sustainable alternatives for energy sources (solar, hydro, nuclear etc.), however refined products such as plastic are much harder to come by otherwise. Plastics play an important role in innovating technologies used in the space advancements, bulletproof vests and prosthetic limbs, as well as in a myriad of everyday products and more importantly, packaging. However, it is possible to e.g. create corn bioplastics that are biodegradable and, when incinerated, don’t emit toxic fumes unlike their oil-based counterparts. The main issues is that its structural rigidity is lesser than that of conventional plastics as well as the fact that bioplastic's packaging has a limited shelf time, however these issues are easily solvable by technological
Hydraulic fracturing or better known as fracking is a very contentious and cost-saving procedure in which fossil fuels are extracted from the earths crust. Instead of conventional oil drilling, it is used to exploit any possible sources of oil and natural gas, beyond the major known well sites. It was introduced in the 1940s and since then the practice has become increasingly controversial regarding its environmental impact. The pros and cons of this procedure are very much linked, making it hard to rationalise or justify either opinion. Fracking can potentially be a solution to the global energy crisis, but only if we, as humans stop procrastinating and focus on searching for more sustainable …show more content…
It is important to be located in a shale dense area because that is the rock type that commonly yields most resource (sandstone/ limestone also applicable). A drill is then inserted into the ground as by a conventional drilling, to about 1,800m to 3,000m underground where is is then rotated 90° to drill though the shale layer. Fracking itself, is a “well-stimulation technique”, wherein a pressurised hydraulically liquid (chemicals and sand mixed in water) is pumped into the well, creating microscopic fractures or ‘fissures’ in the deep-rock. The sand in the liquid then travels into the fractures and keeps them propped open allowing natural gas and crude oil to escape the rock more easily. Fracking is generally applied to drilling wells in order to exhaust the capabilities of the site because more resources per well is equivalent to more money which essentially fuels todays world. Even though, this has been proven to not be effective, people often still see it as justified in order to exploit any further resources whilst effectively prolonging the dilemma and detrimentally damaging the …show more content…
1) Jet fuel and Naphtha, which is often used as a chemical foundation. There are plenty of suitable and sustainable alternatives for energy sources (solar, hydro, nuclear etc.), however refined products such as plastic are much harder to come by otherwise. Plastics play an important role in innovating technologies used in the space advancements, bulletproof vests and prosthetic limbs, as well as in a myriad of everyday products and more importantly, packaging. However, it is possible to e.g. create corn bioplastics that are biodegradable and, when incinerated, don’t emit toxic fumes unlike their oil-based counterparts. The main issues is that its structural rigidity is lesser than that of conventional plastics as well as the fact that bioplastic's packaging has a limited shelf time, however these issues are easily solvable by technological