A review of environmental issues caused by hydraulic fracturing of shale gas

Abstract

As the pivotal technology enabling unconventional resource exploitation, hydraulic fracturing has revolutionized shale gas production while raising significant environmental concerns. Field applications demonstrate five primary ecological impacts: excessive freshwater appropriation during fracturing operations, subsurface aquifer contamination through chemical migration, induced seismicity from subsurface pressure alterations, terrestrial ecosystem degradation at drilling sites, and atmospheric emissions from associated combustion processes. Starting from the mechanism and characteristics of hydraulic fracturing, the mechanism of environmental problems caused by hydraulic fracturing of the shale gas and the negative impact of hydraulic fracturing of the shale gas on the environment are comprehensively summarized and analyzed. The risk prevention measures and methods for treating the backflow waste is also comprehensively summarized and analyzed. The above content provides a scientific reference for the environmental development of shale gas and important valuable results for the treatment of waste generated by shale gas fracturing.