In 2010, Halliburton announced the creation of food additive based hydraulic fracturing fluid in response to calls for transparency and demand for a "more environmentally friendly" unconventional hydrocarbon production.
[1] In Europe, Poland, Norway and Germany have the largest reserves of shale gas, and drillings are underway.
[2] In the United Kingdom, the environmental regulator permits only chemical additives which are classed as non hazardous to groundwater for fracturing fluids.
[7] The permitted additives for hydraulic fracturing fluid include polycrylamide, hydrochloric acid and a biocide.
In the US, about 750 compounds have been listed as additives for hydraulic fracturing, also known as ingredients of pressurized fracking fluid,[9] in an industry report to the US Congress in 2011[10][11] The following is a partial list of the chemical constituents in additives that are used or may have been used in fracturing operations.