41.16 tons of HCL, 12.87 tons of tetramethyl ammonium chloride, 5.5 tons of potassium hydroxide

[LynneSin]

How would you like that being integrated into your drinking water?

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There Are Many Scary Chemicals In Fracking Fluid At This Pennsylvania Site


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-many-scary-chemicals-in-fracking-fluid-at-this-pennsylvania-site-2012-5#ixzz1wNoMFUcT


Let’s consider a frack site in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. This particular frack site is right in the middle of Marcellus Shale country and lies along the state’s Western border, and is located in a rural community similar to many areas of the middle inner-East Coast.

The nearest house is approximately 300 meters away and the nearest neighborhood is 1200 meters away. Within 3000 meters from the site lies a sprawling golf course and a small community of 20 houses.

<<<<snip>>>>>


The frack fluid mostly contains water (89%), with another 9.3% of the fluid being sand. While on the surface this may seem to be a non-toxic, unthreatening mixture, it must be kept in mind that these two ingredients that constitute up to 98.3% of a frack fluid recipe equal out to about 25,025.17 tons of liquid. Now consider that the remaining chemicals constitute an additional 132.82 tons, or 1.7%, of the mixture.


Though most of these remaining chemicals measure out to be below one ton, there are larger amounts of some certain ingredients. For instance, hydrogen chloride totals a whopping 41.16 tons. Other ingredients, such as a ‘carbohydrate polymer’ are listed at comprising 33.17 tons, and a ‘synthetic organic polymer’ makes up 20.76 tons.

Other high amounts of ingredients include tetramethyl ammonium chloride (12.87 tons), ‘aliphatic polyol’ (11.10 tons), potassium hydroxide (5.55 tons) and hydrotreated petroleum distillate (2.99 tons).

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-many-scary-chemicals-in-fracking-fluid-at-this-pennsylvania-site-2012-5#ixzz1wNobVYKX

[MineralMan]

1. The HCl is in the form of hydrochloric acid, the same

as in your car's battery. Potassium hydroxide is a form of lye, and is commonly used in the manufacture of biodiesel and in making soft soaps. Its role in fracking is most likely to neutralize the HCl and normalize the pH of the fluid.

I'm not sure what the purpose of all of these chemicals is in the fracking process. Most, however, are toxic.

[jberryhill]

2. More to the point... HCl is made in your own stomach

[MineralMan]

3. Indeed it is.

I'm not sure what it's function is in fracking, but I suspect that it's used in limestone formations, where it would react with teh CaCO3 that makes up the limestone to release large quantities of CO2. The Potassium Hydroxide would neutralize any remaining acid and restore a normal pH to the fluid. But I'm not sure about that.

[derby378]

4. Ah, good ol' muriatic acid

Your stomach manufactures a 5% solution of hydrochloric acid. Try to stay within that pH range if you can.

Solutions of up 10% hydrochloric acid were once prescribed as indigestion remedies before safer alternatives were developed.

Drinking a solution of 20% hydrochloric acid will most likely kill you. And if you survive, you may wish you hadn't.

Science!

[MineralMan]

5. Acids are useful, but can be dangerous, of course.

Lots of things are like that. I'm not sure what your point is, really. I'm not excusing fracking. I'm offering information.

[derby378]

6. Sorry - just a little free association

I've been studying old-timey medicines for quite some time, and hydrochloric acid just happened to be on the list.