Chemical use

We continue to build on our detailed understanding of the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process.

Chemicals are used for many purposes in hydraulic fracturing. Some chemicals are designed to inhibit bacterial growth while others reduce friction and allow fluids to flow down the casing more easily. Without these additives, the effectiveness of each hydraulic fracture treatment would be limited. The make-up of fracturing fluid varies from one geological basin or formation to another and the difference between the formulations can be as small as a change in concentration of one specific compound. The number of chemical additives used in a typical fracture treatment also varies, depending on the conditions of the well being fractured. Each component serves a specific, engineered purpose.

% of Total	Product category	Main ingredient	Purpose
~99.5%	Water	H20	Creates fractures and delivers the sand to the zone of interest
	Sand (proppant)	Silica	Props fractures open to allow gas to flow
~0.50%	Gel	Guar gum	Thickens water to suspend the sand
	Friction reducer	Polyacrylamide	Minimize friction between the fluid and the pipe
	Crosslinker	Borate salts or Zirconium	Greatly increases base gel viscosity
	Anti-bacterial agents	Glutaraldehyde	Eliminates any bacteria in the water that may produce corrosive byproducts.
	Breaker	Ammonium or Sodium persulfate	Breaks gel to lower viscosity
	Corrosion inhibitor	n, n-dimethyl formamide	Prevents corrosion of the pipe
	Iron control	Citric acid	Prevents metal oxides precipitation
	Clay stabilizer	Potassium or Quaternary chloride	Creates a brine carrier fluid
	pH adjusting agent	Sodium hydroxide or Potassium carbonate	Maintains desired pH for crosslinker effectiveness
	Surfactant	Isopropanol	Used for water recovery and preventing emulsions