Marcellus Shale Fracking – Transloading Bulk Materials for Marcellus Shale Drilling

Archive for the ‘propane Fracking’ Category

The development of propane fracking has come a long way since it was first proposed many years ago.

This has and is still the only economical alternative to hydrofracking to help extract additional energy reserves from the ground, especially from shale rock formation. It is also considered a Green alternative to hydrofracking and is allowed to be used under the current New York moratorium on hydrofracking.

There are a few draw backs from using propane instead of water to pressurize the rock formation and form the necessary fissures in the rock to release the trapped oil and natural gas. To begin with the use of propane for fracing purposes is more expensive that hydrofracking.

Another issue with using propane is that its state has to be altered from a gas to a non-explosive gel. This is done by adding peroxides and other chemicals to the gas that help to make it a liquid. This liquid is a relatively stable compound, but there has been an incident where a fire has broken out at a site during a fracking procedure using propane. The investigation on the true cause is still underway at this time.

The leading reason hydrofracking is not liked by many communities is the potential contamination of ground water sources. The big misunderstanding is that it is not the fracing that is causing the problem but the actual drilling of the wells. The oil and gas reserves are below the ground water tables so the wells need to penetrate this layer to reach the energy reserves. This has been the way of drilling for oil and gas since it first began over 100 years ago.

The fracking of wells is not the step in the extraction of energy from the ground that is causing the contamination of the ground water, but the actually drilling thru this layer of earth itself. The Green movements that have helped get in place the moratorium on hydrofracking in the state of New York have not also given any alternatives to the loss of energy reserves they are forcing or to hydrofracking itself.

Propane fracking is a great alternative to hydrofracking in many aspects. The wells can be operational faster and the amount of water used is dramatically reduced. The amount of cleanup afterward is also reduced because the gas is easier to collect from the well than the waste water that must be channeled to a pond onsite. The only way the protest against fracking can be appeased is to stop drilling wells in America or reduce our consumption. Not even the protestors are willing to do that.

Related articles

• Even More on Propane Fracturing (transloading.org)
• Oil Shale Fracking (transloading.org)
• Marcellus Shale Fracking Benefits (transloading.org)

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Author: things on shelves.

The alternatives to hydrofracking are very limited because of the specific task it performs to help extract the necessary energy that is constantly being demanded by the American consumer. The one alternative that has less of an environmental impact while still performing the same function is called propane fracking.

Propane fracking uses a liquid propane gel along with other items such as frac sand that are pumped into the shale oil rock wells under extreme pressure. This pressure is used to break up the shale rock layer and allow the trapped oil and gas to be released in a recoverable way.

The major advantage of using this new fracking method over the hydrofracking method, there is no water used. Because of this, there is no waste water stream being produced by the process. With no waste water stream, the cleanup after the fracking process is easier to complete.

Another reason for using the propane fracking process over hydrofracking is the speed in which the well can be brought back into production. In most cases after the hydrofracking procedure is completed, the water is channeled out of the well for up to a week. This water is then collected and placed in a pond on the premises of the well for treatment and or disposal at a later date.

The propane fracking process has to recover the liquefied gel propane, but the time and waste products are very different. The propane is placed in the well as a gel, but after the pressure is exerted on the gel, it changes state to a gas. This gas is then allowed to escape leaving behind the frac sand to keep the newly formed fissures open.

As this frac gas escapes from the bore head of the well, it is trapped just like the natural gas is collected. This is then kept and recycled at a later date. This process only takes up to 48 hours before the well can be back in production of recovering the energy reserve that had been previously trapped below ground.

With the present state of technology and the increasing demand for energy from the American public and the world, there is no other practical alternative to hydrofracking.

For those opponents to the fracking process, the alternatives are very simple. Either stop using energy, allow fracking to continue or rely even more on foreign energy imports to help sustain the economy. This is due to the fact that the only other alternatives to hydrofracking would involve strip mining to recover the energy reserve. That would do even more environmental damage that what is suspected of hydrofracking.

Related articles

• Frack Sand Described (transloading.org)
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The use of propane fracturing as the choice method of fracturing the rock bed in the Marcellus Shale region is growing. This is because of the growing concern by local residents about the process they know little to nothing about.

Because of this concern, the use of LPG in the form of a gel is growing in popularity. The difference between fracturing with propane versus water is only on the medium that is used. The same amount of frac sand is used in both process, 0.5%. Both forms of medium are non-toxic and non-hazardous to use.

The process consists of the medium being pumped into the wellbore until the pressure in the well reaches approximately 15,000 psi. This will cause the brittle shale to crack or fracture. The frac sand that accompanies the medium is used to keep these small fissures open so the gas and oil that has been trapped can escape.

The medium is then released back out the wellbore and collected. When hydrofracking is used, the water is collected in a pond near the well. When propane fracking is used, the LPG is collected in a tank as a gas.

For the groups of people that want to know more about this process, the need to become informed is important. This fracturing process is the same one used all across the nation to revitalize a water well also. This has been going on with drinking water wells for over 60 years, with no adverse effects.

The two main differences between the propane fracturing and hydro fracturing are the recovery of the medium, taking less than 48 hours with the LPG on average compared to a week with hydrofracking and the absences of a non-toxic, non-hazardous pond.

Click this link to read more about propane fracking

and here: http://transloading.org/propane-fracking/

and here: http://transloading.org/more-about-propane-fracking/

The use of propane fracking is on the increase in the natural gas exploration industry. This type of procedure came about for several different reasons.

While hydro fracking has been around for 60 years and does an adequate job, the water that was used along with the slurry solution has to be segregated and not released back into the environment until it has been treated. This adds to the expense of using it. It also takes several days to get the well operational again because the slurry solution has to be drained in order to allow the natural gas to be expelled and collected.

The fracking procedure that uses propane reduces the length of time it takes to recover the slurry solution. This is because the propane is pumped in as a gel. Once under pressure, the gel changes state from a liquid to a gas. When the pressure is released, this gas travels out the bore head and is easily collected. This process generally takes less than 24 hours.

The separation of the propane from the natural gas is a process that already has to be done since there is a certain amount of propane present in natural gas. So the additional cost of this separation is minimal.

Because there is no water used in the process, the cost of the processing of the waste water is eliminated. There is also no chance of the propane contaminating any aquifer that the surrounding residents might be using as a source of drinking water. Since the propane is in a gel state, it is safe for handling and non explosive.

These are the simple advantages of using propane fracking over hydro fracking in the natural gas industry.

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Read our previous post about propane fracking, click here, and click here.

Propane fracking is the new alternative to hydrofracking. Both processes have the same goal in mind. This goal is to open up the rock bed below the surface to allow more of the trapped hydrocarbons to be released, so they can be recovered.

A part of the process that both have in common is that they alternative to hydrofracking. By applying pressure to the well with a slurry medium, fissures are formed in the rock bed and the sand filters into the cracks. When the pressure is released, the sand remains behind to keep the fissures open. These openings allow for the trapped oil and natural gas to escape which can be recovered at the surface. In most cases, before the slurry mixture is introduced to the well, an acid solution is deposited into the well to soften up the rock bed.

In hydrofracking, the slurry consists mainly of water and sand along with some hydrocarbons, if the well master deems it necessary. In propane fracking, the slurry consists of a specially prepared gel that is made up of liquid propane and sand. Both of these slurries do the same job to the same degree. The difference between them is the recovery of the slurry mixture.

With hydrofracking, the slurry is recovered over a period of days. The water and sand mixture is channeled to a settling pond nearby. Between 25% and 82% of this slurry is recovered from a well.

The propane fracking process has a higher rate of recovery, nearly 100%. This is because the liquid propane turns to a gas and is easily collected at the well bore. This recovery generally takes less than a day so the production at the well can commence with a shorter delay than with hydrofracking.

Click here to read a previous post on propane fracking.

The new alternative to hydrofracking is propane fracking. This is considered the Green alternative when the cracking of rock layers underground is needed to extract a natural gas or oil reservoir that is trapped in shale rock beds.

The principal is basically the same as hydro fracking. Liquefied petroleum gas is pumped down a well bore and into the rock bed in a gel form. This cracks the shale rock bed without the formational damage other fracking methods might present.

One of the leading advantages of using LPG over water and oil based fracking techniques is the recovery of the fracking fluid. Sand and surfactants are used in the typical hydrofracking technique. This waste water then needs to be treated or stored securely after it is used. The propane fracturing technique is different.

The LPG method places the LPG in the well bore as a liquid or gel and upon completion of the fracking procedure it is withdrawn as a gas. Unlike the hydro fracking technique that takes up to 5 days to extract 50% of the hydrofracking medium, with LPG the time is only 24 to 48 hours at a rate of nearly 100%.

The recovery of this propane gas is done along with the same pipeline used to collect the natural gas. This allows for the elimination to flare sales gas for a week or more as which is common with hydro fracturing techniques.  There are even conservative estimates that this procedure increases the productivity of a well by 35%.

LPG is a highly flammable gas but is safe to work with in gel form. This is the form that is used in propane fracking for the natural gas industry.

Our sponsor, TranZ is in the business of supplying transportation for all types of goods needed in the Marcellus Shale gas fracking business.

Update on propane fracking an environmental consideration.