tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post6772282322108437581..comments2024-03-27T21:02:08.203-07:00Comments on Cliff Mass Weather Blog: The Fracking/Ozone MysteryCliff Mass Weather Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-44870232603373475492013-12-30T11:10:11.606-08:002013-12-30T11:10:11.606-08:00Sigh ... the article you linked may imply a correl...Sigh ... the article you linked may imply a correlation between natural gas production and higher background levels of methane, but establishes zero causal evidence that hydraulic fracturing is the root cause of this elevated level.<br /><br />Barring a serious accident such as a well blowout or pipeline rupture, there are two stages where natural gas (mostly methane) can be released: <br /><br />1) While the well is being drilled. When a formation containing hydrocarbon is pulverized by the drill bit and brought to surface by the drilling mud, the hydrostatic head is dropped by thousands of psi, which can cause gas to be emitted from the particles. While gas detectors can track changes in these emissions, the amount is very small because the volume of cuttings is very small as well.<br /><br />2) Once the well is brought into production (whether from a conventional permeable formation or tight shale that has been hydraulically fractured).<br /><br />I don't dispute the data in the article you linked, but I do dispute her analysis and conclusions.<br /><br />I do have some experience and knowledge in this area. I graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado Scholl of Mines in the '70's, and even though I'm no longer in the energy business, I spent the first 11 years of my career as a petroleum engineer doing worldwide oil & gas exploration.<br /><br />We were doing hydraulic fracturing back then and it was a mature technology by 1970, so the process is well understood. What is new is combining horizontal drilling and fracturing to make producing gas from tight shale formations cost effective. That said, once gas or oil from those formations is brought to surface, it's the process for getting it from wellhead to market as it was when I worked in the industry. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151618350374618974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-59490323236254406332013-12-28T10:10:26.753-08:002013-12-28T10:10:26.753-08:00Peter Pawlak:
There is an increasingly deep li...Peter Pawlak:<br /> There is an increasingly deep literature documenting the loss of methane and other chemicals from fracking sites, particularly once they go into production. An accessible review of work by a NOAA scientist is found at this NPR site:<br /><br />http://www.npr.org/2012/05/17/151545578/frackings-methane-trail-a-detective-story<br /><br />The work is published in JGR. You can find it here:<br /><br />JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 117, D04304, doi:10.1029/2011JD016360, 2012<br /><br />..cliff<br /><br />Cliff Mass Weather Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13948649423540350788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-69998819571690181822013-12-27T12:48:58.309-08:002013-12-27T12:48:58.309-08:00I totally concur with Jonn-E's comments.
Hyd...I totally concur with Jonn-E's comments. <br /><br />Hydraulic fracturing techniques per se do not yield ANY methane because the well is dead during the process (after all, the process involves injecting viscosified water and sand though casing perforations _into_ the formation, so it's impossible for gases to escape to the atmosphere). It's only after the frac fluid is removed and the well is allowed to flow that natural gas is brought to the surface. During the flow-back process the produced gas and water are separated and are either burned or routed to a collector pipeline<br /><br />The mention of "fracing" in this study is a non sequitur and it being used just to take advantage of the public's ignorance of the process.<br /><br />The only truth in this article is that the process requires a lot of horsepower that is produced by diesel-powered pump trucks, which do emit the pollution typical of any diesel engine.<br /><br />The study SHOULD be focused on the problem of natural gas (mostly methane) leaks in surface equipment. Operators lose money on these leaks, so they don't want them either.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151618350374618974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-71549550512056365482013-12-27T11:42:56.547-08:002013-12-27T11:42:56.547-08:00All the more reason we should get off the fossil f...All the more reason we should get off the fossil fuel teat and get SERIOUS about solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and nuclear fusion power.<br /><br />This is the kind of thing where the government should take the lead. If I had my way, a person would have to have a science degree in order to hold public office.<br /><br />Anselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13835758313287462921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-78452624129210353482013-12-24T10:32:09.001-08:002013-12-24T10:32:09.001-08:00Due to this posting, (and related to my background...Due to this posting, (and related to my background), i became curious in seeing if there was a chemical equation that more-or-less started with methane and ended up with ozone. This led me to this <a href="http://www.sciencetime.org/ConstructedClimates/?page_id=410" rel="nofollow">Figure</a> from Will Wilson of Duke University (who probably got it from somewhere else (after-all, he's a Biologist! ;) ) buried in his references)<br /><br />In short, egads, what a witches' brew is our atmosphere.Just AboveNOAAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14671116119773695985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-66523780128671762322013-12-24T09:53:50.979-08:002013-12-24T09:53:50.979-08:00While fugitive emissions at pipe joints, etc. are ...While fugitive emissions at pipe joints, etc. are a growing concern and could certainly contribute to the chemical reaction like you stated, I fail to see how it would be any different whether the well is a standard natural gas well or a fracked well. It seems you are using the word "fracking" in this case more because it is a trigger word that brings out the pitchforks than any direct correlation. A secondary correlation may exist in that fracking is encouraging more gas production through improved yields of zones that would otherwise be reducing in gas production, but this post (and the study) seems to be pitching a direct correlation.<br /><br />I have been in the rural parts of the Uintah Basin recently. I would suggest that these researchers look into the dust as a source of nitrates. The road soils are all clays which aerate like nothing I've ever seen before. If a high pressure system moves in the dust gets trapped in the middle of the basin in a powerful inversion. The roads will not be dusty when they are there in the winter though, so although they will likely observe the inversion on a sunny day it won't have as much dust as warmer months.Jonn-Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03526663018827394129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7478606652950905956.post-14882247231630191282013-12-24T08:41:57.731-08:002013-12-24T08:41:57.731-08:00I follow news from Oklahoma (home state.) Earthqu...I follow news from Oklahoma (home state.) Earthquakes are up approx 4,000% per the sources I read. 4,000%<br /><br />Lots of fracking going on in OK. <br /><br />I like gas in my car but I like to eat and breath even more.gul aunorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12796637436246169956noreply@blogger.com