The answer to the question above is yes, they are in danger, an analysis of environmental and toxicological risks was carried out representing the chemicals used in the extraction of Fracking gas, also known as Shale gas, in addition, the amount of chemical substances used per well was determined, highlighting the fifteen with the highest frequency and their high toxicity, as well as the enormous amount of water that this process requires ranging from 10 to 30 million liters, and that if not receiving treatment, as it would be left to the will of the companies, represents a triple environmental risk, starting with the effect on the availability of water, especially in areas of the deposits of this gas that are located in desert or semi-desert areas for the most part, in addition to the contamination of the water itself with the consequent risk to the health of people and the habitat, and as if that were not enough, the contamination of the soil that it would occupy , a 4 meter deep reservoir would imply half a hectare of land occupied for the average volume of water used in each well.  A Gas Shale extraction well was recreated with the most commonly used chemical substances in hydrofracturing, preparing mixtures of one liter of water with the aforementioned substances, subsequently the effectiveness of activated carbon to adsorb said substances was evaluated.<br/>Through an ANOVA analysis, the differences in the samples treated with the aforementioned adsorbent were determined, the usefulness of activated carbon was verified to separate the chemical substances that are pollutants from the water in which the mixtures are prepared for the extraction of Shale gas.

Mexico's water and soil: Threatened by fracking gas?

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.