Americans' energy use continued to grow slowly in 2014, fueled by increases in the use of natural gas, wind and solar, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Each year, the Laboratory releases charts that illustrate the nation's consumption and use of energy. Overall, Americans used 0.9 quadrillion (quads) British thermal units (BTUs) more in 2014 than the previous year, an increase of about 1 percent.

The Laboratory also released a companion chart illustrating the nation's energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Americans' carbon dioxide emissions increased, but only barely, to 5,410 million metric tons from 5,390 million metric tons in 2013. However, carbon emissions from coal and petroleum declined, while emissions from natural gas made up the difference. Overall, the carbon intensity of the American energy economy is decreasing.

Petroleum use was decreased by 1 percent due mainly to lower use in the industrial sector. Much of that energy has been replaced by natural gas.

"American manufacturers have gained confidence that natural gas prices will stay low for the long term, and have invested in equipment to switch from oil to natural gas feedstocks and fuels," said A.J. Simon , an LLNL energy group leader.

Overall natural gas use increased by 0.9 quads. The growing economy spurred demand in the commercial sector, and use was up in the transportation sector because natural gas is used to power natural gas pipelines, and pipeline utilization has been on the rise for the past decade.

Solar energy use jumped dramatically by 33 percent from .32 quadrillion BTUs, or quads, in 2013 to .427 quads in 2014. Simon attributes the change to an unprecedented solar industry expansion coupled to low global prices for panels and innovative financing for homes and businesses. Both utility-scale solar (which feeds the power grid directly) and rooftop solar experienced rapid growth.

Wind energy was up again by 8 percent, growing from 1.6 quads to 1.73 quads. The pace of wind energy deployment slowed considerably from 2012 to 2014. Hydroelectricity production declined by almost 4 percent due to the continued drought in California, Simon said

The majority of energy use in 2014 was used for electricity generation (38.4 quads), followed by transportation, industrial, residential and commercial. Energy use in the residential, commercial transportation sectors all increased slightly while the industrial sector did not fluctuate from 2013 use.

Rejected energy increased to 59.4 quads in 2014, from 59 in 2013, rising in proportion to the total energy consumed. "Not all of the energy that we consume is put to use," Simon explained. "Heat you feel when you put your hand on your water heater and the warm exhaust from your car's tailpipe are examples of rejected energy." Comparing energy services to rejected energy gives a rough estimate of each sector's energy efficiency.

- SPACE STORY - nanotech slug1 225 22-DEC-49 Researchers develop new way to manufacture nanofibers Researchers develop new way to manufacture nanofibers sergiy-minko-lg.jpg sergiy-minko-bg.jpg sergiy-minko-sm.jpg Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive way to manufacture nanofibers. The new method, dubbed 'magnetospinning,' provides a very simple, scalable and safe means for producing very large quantities of nanofibers that can be embedded with a multitude of materials, including live cells and drugs. Image courtesy Cal Powell/UGA. For a larger version of this image please go here. University of Georgia
by Staff Writers Athens GA (SPX) May 22, 2015 Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive way to manufacture extraordinarily thin polymer strings commonly known as nanofibers. These polymers can be made from natural materials like proteins or from human-made substances to make plastic, rubber or fiber, including biodegradable materials.

The new method, dubbed "magnetospinning" by the researchers, provides a very simple, scalable and safe means for producing very large quantities of nanofibers that can be embedded with a multitude of materials, including live cells and drugs.

Many thousands of times thinner than the average human hair, nanofibers are used by medical researchers to create advanced wound dressings - and for tissue regeneration, drug testing, stem cell therapies and the delivery of drugs directly to the site of infection. They are also used in other industries to manufacture fuel cells, batteries, filters and light-emitting screens.

"The process we have developed makes it possible for almost anyone to manufacture high-quality nanofibers without the need for expensive equipment," said Sergiy Minko, study co-author and the Georgia Power Professor of Polymers, Fibers and Textiles in UGA's College of Family and Consumer Sciences. "This not only reduces costs, but it also makes it possible for more businesses and researchers to experiment with nanofibers without worrying too much about their budget."

Currently, the most common nanofiber manufacturing technique - electrospinning - uses high-voltage electricity and specially designed equipment to produce the polymer strings. Equipment operators must have extensive training to use the equipment safely.

"In contrast to other nanofiber spinning devices, most of the equipment used in our device is very simple," Minko said. "Essentially, all you need is a magnet, a syringe and a small motor."

At laboratory scale, a very simple handcrafted setup is capable of producing spools containing hundreds of yards of nanofibers in a matter of seconds. Polymer that has been melted or liquefied in a solution is mixed with biocompatible iron oxide or another magnetic material and placed inside a hypodermic needle.

This needle is then positioned near a magnet that is fixed atop a spinning circular platter. As the magnet passes by the tip of the needle, a droplet of the polymer fluid stretches out and attaches to the magnet, forming a nanofiber string that winds around the platter as it continues to spin.

The device can spin at more than 1,000 revolutions per minute, enough time to create more than 50 kilometers - or about 31 miles - of ultra-thin nanofiber.

It's a relatively simple process, but it produces a very high-quality product, said Alexander Tokarev, paper co-author and postdoctoral research associate in Minko's lab.

"The product we can make is just as thin and just as strong as nanofibers created through other methods," he said. "Plus, users don't have to worry about the safety issues of using high voltages or the complexity of other machines."

The researchers can use this method to create a variety of nanofibers simply by changing the polymer placed in the syringe. They can, for example, create specially designed nanofibers that will promote the growth of stem cells. Fibers like these are currently used to create scaffolding for lab-grown tissues and organs.

Nanofibers can also be loaded with proteins, nanotubes, fluorescent materials and therapeutic agents.

"We can use almost any kind of polymer with this platform, and we can tailor make the nanofibers for different applications," Minko said. "It's like cooking. We just change the ingredients a bit, and the kind of fiber we get is very different."

The study is available here