New technologies that will remove the “hydraulic” from hydraulic fracturing are on the horizon and will send screaming opponents into the fractivist inferno.

Fracturing of natural gas wells using propane is something we’ve previously discussed here at NaturalGasNOW. It’s definitely feasible and has been used elsewhere but the economics are questionable compared to hydraulic fracturing in many instances, so it’s not caught on yet, although it has been proposed in New York. There were also gas wells that have already been fractured with CO2, which holds the promise of being combined with CO2 capture to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions. Now, though, comes another idea, which may be the best of all: fracturing with natural gas itself. It’s likely to send our anti-gas friends into screaming apoplectic fits as they self-immolate in a fractivist inferno.

It’s not a new idea, as this FuelFix article of five years ago indicates, but it’s now been tested. PennState is doing a webinar on March 15 where I expect that’s we’ll learn the preliminary results. Here’s the invitation (emphasis added):

Griffin Beck, Research Engineer, Propulsion & Energy Machinery, Southwest Research Institute will discuss research into natural gas foam as a hydraulic fracturing fluid in place of water.

Read more:

http://naturalgasnow.org/evolving-technology-will-produce-fractivist-inferno/