Marcellus Shale Fracking – Transloading Bulk Materials for Marcellus Shale Drilling

Posts Tagged ‘lpg’

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 fracking methods that are deployed by the natural gas and oil explorers only involve two similar kinds. There is hydrofracking and propane fracking. Both use a similar slurry of frac sand and surfactant of about 0.5% of the overall components, but the main component is where the difference lies.

Hydrofracking involves the use of water as the main fluid source. This is a known substance that is non-toxic and non-hazardous to use and work with. This method involves a slurry mixture of 99.5% water and the remainder consisting of frac sand and surfactants. This slurry is pumped down into the borehole of the well at 100 barrels a minute, and the fracking pressure can be as high as 15,000 psi to crack the rock bed below. The fracking medium is recovered after the rock bed is cracked. The water returns to the surface and is held in a collection pond close to the borehole.

Propane fracking involves the same components but instead of water, a LPG in gel form is used. This, too, is non-hazardous and non-toxic while it is in gel form. Once it becomes a gas, there is a flammability issue that has to be addressed. The main difference is the way the medium is recovered. The LPG gel evaporates after the pressure is released, and the gas is contained in a tank instead of a pond.

This procedure has been used for over 60 years in the natural gas and oil exploration. What most people are unaware of is that it has other uses that have been deployed for the same amount of time. The most common is the use of fracking to stimulate a groundwater well. There has been some debate over the use of hydrofracking and what it is doing to the ground water, but they forget this is the method that is used to keep old water wells functioning.

Other uses include the use of fracking to help carve out mines, and for the tunnel construction for roads and railroads. This is a far safer method than with the use of dynamite.

The fracking methods that are being deployed today have many beneficial uses that include more than just extending the recovery efforts of the natural gas and oil wells.