Fracking has been employed on conventional wells since the late forties.
The only thing that's new about today's fracking is that it is employed in tandem with hortizontal drilling -- which is now also being tried on older conventional wells.
As you might expect, fracking equipment and formulae for fracking fluids have also undergone about 70 years of technological advances in the interim. But the concept is the same -- fracture the formation and release the fluids (and/or gasses).
Do they recycle the sand ? If not, what other uses are there for it ?
How about crunched up coal ? Could that be used instead of sand in the fractures in fracking ?
What could be used instead of sand and be cheaper ?
How about pulverizing the rocks or gravel in the area ? Would that costs more than shipping in sand ?