Final answer:
To extract oil deposits, a combination of sand, water, and chemicals is pumped into the ground. This method is part of hydraulic fracturing, a technique used to access hydrocarbons in shale rocks. Other methods, such as injecting superheated water and air, are used to extract different materials like sulfur.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order to extract the oil deposits, sand, water, and chemical combinations are pumped into the ground. This process is known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which is a method used to retrieve gas and oil from shale rocks by injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure to fracture the rocks and release the hydrocarbons. Drilling reaches the rock formations that contain oil and gas deposits, where natural gas flows out of the well, and the recovered water is stored and then treated.
To extract other materials, such as sulfur, superheated water and compressed air can be utilized. For example, in underground deposits in Texas and Louisiana, superheated water is forced down to melt the sulfur, which is then separated and cooled to form solid sulfur with high purity.
Extraction techniques vary depending on the type of deposit. Besides hydraulic fracturing, methods include injecting water at high pressure, horizontal drilling, or using pumps to extract the oil from porous rocks. The United States has been drilling deeper and exploring alternative sources like tar sands and oil shale, despite the environmental impacts associated with these methods.