Fracking: Volume 39 (Issues in Environmental Science and Technology) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184973920X ISBN 13: 9781849739207

Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014

Synopsis

Fracking - hydraulic fracturing of porous rock to enhance the extraction of fossil fuels - was first attempted in the mid-20th century, but has only recently been adopted as a viable source of hydrocarbons. This volume in the Issues series examines the technology, and its potential environmental implications.

About this title

About the Authors

Ron Hester is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of York. In addition to his research work on a wide range of applications of vibrational spectroscopy, he has been actively involved in environmental chemistry and was a founder member of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Environment Group. His current activities are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor on courses, individual promotions, and departmental/subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad.

Roy Harrison OBE is Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Birmingham. In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science. Professor Harrison’s research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

From the Back Cover

Fracking has the potential to extract hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible sources of gas and oil, but is regularly in the news because of environmental concerns surrounding the process. First used commercially in the mid-20^th Century, only recently has fracking been deployed on a large scale, revolutionising the energy industry in the USA. As more nations seek to adopt or ban fracking, do the economic benefits outweigh the environmental costs?

Presenting both sides of the debate, this latest volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology draws on a wealth of international expertise, ranging from the oil and gas industry to Friends of the Earth. The technology of fracking is examined in detail, as well as the associated economic, societal and global climate change considerations. Individual chapters focus on exploration for unconventional hydrocarbons, the hydrogeological aspects and risks of water contamination, coal seam gas extraction in Australia and current developments in China.

Anyone wishing to gain a balanced view of hydraulic fracturing will benefit from reading this book, which is aimed at researchers in academia and industry, policy makers, environmental science students and the interested layman.

From the Inside Flap

Fracking has the potential to extract hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible sources of gas and oil, but is regularly in the news because of environmental concerns surrounding the process. First used commercially in the mid-20^th Century, only recently has fracking been deployed on a large scale, revolutionising the energy industry in the USA. As more nations seek to adopt or ban fracking, do the economic benefits outweigh the environmental costs?

Presenting both sides of the debate, this latest volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology draws on a wealth of international expertise, ranging from the oil and gas industry to Friends of the Earth. The technology of fracking is examined in detail, as well as the associated economic, societal and global climate change considerations. Individual chapters focus on exploration for unconventional hydrocarbons, the hydrogeological aspects and risks of water contamination, coal seam gas extraction in Australia and current developments in China.

Anyone wishing to gain a balanced view of hydraulic fracturing will benefit from reading this book, which is aimed at researchers in academia and industry, policy makers, environmental science students and the interested layman.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Fracking

Issues in Environmental Science and Technology

By R.E. Hester, R.M. Harrison

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-84973-920-7

Contents

Editors, 
List of Contributors, 
Introduction and Overview: the Role of Shale Gas in Securing Our Energy Future Peter Hardy, 
Shale Gas Boom, Trade and Environmental Policies: Global Economic and Environmental Analyses in a Multidisciplinary Modeling Framework Farzad Taheripour, Wallace E. Tyner and Kemal Sarica, 
Exploration for Unconventional Hydrocarbons: Shale Gas and Shale Oil Iain C. Scotchman, 
Climate Change Impacts of Shale Gas Production John Broderick and Ruth Wood, 
The Hydrogeological Aspects of Shale Gas Extraction in the UK Robert S. Ward, Marianne E. Stuart and John P. Bloomfield, 
Coal Seam Gas Recovery in Australia: Economic, Environmental and Policy Issues Alan Randall, 
Prospects for Shale Gas Development in China Shu Jiang, 
Unconventional and Unburnable: Why going all out for Shale Gas is the Wrong Direction for the UK's Energy Policy Tony Bosworth, 
Subject Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Introduction and Overview: the Role of Shale Gas in Securing Our Energy Future

PETER HARDY

ABSTRACT

The phenomenon of shale gas is both topical and controversial. Its proponents claim that it is a clean, environmentally friendly and abundant source of cheap natural gas; its opponents believe the opposite. In several countries it is a fast-growing industry and operations have begun in the UK.

With conventional reserves of natural gas being quickly depleted, gas prospecting is turning to "unconventional resources", one example being gas found in shale. Uncommon technologies, notably hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, are necessary for shale extraction to be economical.

Shale gas has faced some difficulties over concerns regarding environmental pollution. In the US, Gasland, an influential film was released alleging that waste fluid from hydraulic fracturing, "flowback water", was polluting groundwater. While it is possible for methane to enter groundwater through a faulty well completion, in the UK it is the responsibility of the Environment Agency and HSE to ensure regulation is adequate to prevent risks to the environment or human health.

There have been two earthquakes in Lancashire thought to have been caused by shale gas operations. The results of an investigation into these have been accepted as revealing that they were caused by hydraulic fracturing operations and new guidelines are being proposed to reduce the risk of this happening again.

With insufficient public information and sometimes animosity towards shale gas, drillers need to consider developing corporate social responsibility programs tailored to the needs of the communities local to drilling, with especial consideration towards environmental initiatives.

Worldwide, shale gas has had a significant and growing impact on gas production and looks likely to rapidly transform the energy situation.

In Europe, Poland and France have the largest reserves; Poland has embarked on a program to exploit its shale gas reserves. France, on the other hand, has outlawed the hydraulic fracturing technology vital to shale gas on environmental grounds.

The UK's shale gas reserves are unlikely to be large enough to be a "game changer"; however, they would contribute to gas security and the UK's energy mix, as well as being perceived as a lower-carbon alternative to coal-fired electricity generation.<

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184973920X
• ISBN 13: 9781849739207
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 246
• Editor: R E Hester