Design of an innovative system for hydrogen production by electrolysis using waste heat recovery technology in natural gas engines.

This research proposes designing and implementing a system to produce hydrogen, utilizing the thermal energy from the exhaust gases in a natural gas engine. For the construction of the system, a thermoelectric generator was used to convert the thermal energy from the exhaust gases into electrical power and an electrolyzer bank to produce hydrogen. The system was evaluated using a natural gas engine, which operated at a constant speed (2400 rpm) and six load conditions (20 %, 40 %, 60 %, 80 %, and 100 %). The effect of hydrogen on the engine was evaluated with fuel mixtures (NG + 10 % HEF and NG + 15 % HEF). The results demonstrate that the NG + 10 % HEF and NG + 15 % HEF mixtures allow for a decrease of 1.84 % and 2.33 % in BSFC and an increase of 1.88 % and 2.38 % in BTE. Through the NG + 15 % HEF mixture, the engine achieved an energy efficiency of 34.15 % and an exergetic efficiency of 32.84 %. Additionally, the NG + 15 % HEF mixture reduces annual CO, CO2, and HC emissions by 9.52 %, 15.48 %, and 13.39 %, respectively. The addition of hydrogen positively impacts the engine's economic cost, allowing for a decrease of 1.56 % in the cost of useful work and a reduction of 3.32 % in the cost of exergy loss. In general, the proposed system for hydrogen production represents an alternative for utilizing the residual energy from exhaust gases, resulting in better performance parameters, reduced annual pollutant emissions, and lower economic costs.

High-resolution scanning tunneling microscope and its adaptation for local thermopower measurements in 2D materials.

We present the design, fabrication and discuss the performance of a new combined high-resolution Scanning Tunneling and Thermopower Microscope (STM/SThEM). We also describe the development of the electronic control, the user interface, the vacuum system, and arrangements to reduce acoustical noise and vibrations. We demonstrate the microscope's performance with atomic-resolution topographic images of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and local thermopower measurements in the semimetal Bi2Te3. Our system offers a tool to investigate the relationship between electronic structure and thermoelectric properties at the nanoscale.

Contribution of the carbon tax, phase-out of thermoelectric power plants, and renewable energy subsidies for the decarbonization of Chile - A CGE model and microsimulations approach.

There are various climate policies to decarbonize the energy matrix of a country. In the case of Chile, a carbon tax of 5 USD/tCO2 was initially implemented, and later, a schedule was established for the phase-out of coal-fired thermoelectric plants, all the above in the absence of subsidies for non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE). This study uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and microsimulations to assess the contribution of current climate policies and other more demanding scenarios that accelerate the decarbonization of the Chilean energy matrix, considering economic, environmental, and distributional impacts. Specifically, carbon taxes are simulated with and without complementary climate policies (phase-out of coal-fired power plants and NCRE subsidies). The results show that the scenarios that combine the three climate policies generate a greater decrease in greenhouse gas emissions (40.4% âˆ¼ 57.5%). Besides, the drop in GDP is more pronounced when coal-fired thermoelectric plants phase out (0.3% additional), and NCRE subsidies contribute to moderately reducing emissions. However, NCRE subsidies reduce the negative effect on households' expenditure and income, especially in the poorest quintile. Finally, microsimulations show marginal changes in income distribution and an increase of up to 0.4 percentage points in the poverty rate.

Longitudinal Spin Seebeck Effect Thermopiles Based on Flexible Co-Rich Amorphous Ribbons/Pt Thin-Film Heterostructures.

Thermoelectric phenomena, such as the Anomalous Nernst and Longitudinal Spin Seebeck Effects, are promising for sensor applications in the area of renewable energy. In the case of flexible electronic materials, the request is even larger because they can be integrated into devices having complex shape surfaces. Here, we reveal that Pt promotes an enhancement of the thermoelectric response in Co-rich ribbon/Pt heterostructures due to the spin-to-charge conversion. Moreover, we demonstrated that the employment of the thermopiles configuration in this system increases the induced thermoelectric current, a fact related to the considerable decrease in the electric resistance of the system. By comparing present findings with the literature, we were able to design a flexible thermopile based on LSSE without the lithography process. Additionally, the thermoelectric voltage found in the studied flexible heterostructures is comparable to the ones verified for rigid systems.

Structural Characterization and Thermoelectric Properties of Br-Doped AgSnm[Sb0.8Bi0.2]Te2+m Systems.

Herein, we report the synthesis, structural and microstructural characterization, and thermoelectric properties of AgSnm[Sb0.8Bi0.2]Te2+m and Br-doped telluride systems. These compounds were prepared by solid-state reaction at high temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction data reveal that these samples exhibit crystal structures related to the NaCl-type lattice. The microstructures and morphologies are investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Positive values of the Seebeck coefficient (S) indicate that the transport properties are dominated by holes. The S of undoped AgSnm[Sb0.8Bi0.2]Te2+m ranges from +40 to 57 µV·K-1. Br-doped samples with m = 2 show S values of +74 µV·K-1 at RT, and the Seebeck coefficient increases almost linearly with increasing temperature. The total thermal conductivity (κtot) monotonically increases with increasing temperature (10-300 K). The κtot values of undoped AgSnm[Sb0.8Bi0.2]Te2+m are ~1.8 W m-1 K-1 (m = 4) and ~1.0 W m-1 K-1 (m = 2) at 300 K. The electrical conductivity (σ) decreases almost linearly with increasing temperature, indicating metal-like behavior. The ZT value increases as a function of temperature. A maximum ZT value of ~0.07 is achieved at room temperature for the Br-doped phase with m = 4.

Phonon Dominated Thermal Transport in Metallic Niobium Diselenide from First Principles Calculations.

Niobium diselenide (NbSe2) is a layered transition metal dichalcogenide material which possesses unique electrical and superconducting properties for future nanodevices. While the superconducting, electrical, and bulk thermal transport properties of NbSe2 have been widely studied, the in-plane thermal transport property of NbSe2, which is important for potential thermoelectric applications, has not been thoroughly investigated. In this report, we study the lattice in-plane thermal transport of 2D NbSe2 by solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation with the help of the first principles calculation. The thermal conductivity obtained at room temperature is 12.3 W/mK. A detailed analysis shows that the transverse acoustic phonon dominates the lattice thermal transport, and an anomalously small portion of electron contribution to the total thermal conductivity is observed for this metallic phase. The results agree well with experimental measurements and provide detailed mode-by-mode thermal conductivity contribution from different phonon modes. This study can provide useful information for integrating NbSe2 in nanodevices where both electrical and thermal properties are critical, showing great potential for integrating monolayer NbSe2 to thermoelectric devices.

Optimization Criteria and Efficiency of a Thermoelectric Generator.

The efficiency of a thermoelectric generator model under maximum conditions is presented for two optimization criteria proposed under the context of finite-time thermodynamics, namely, the efficient power criterion and the Omega function, where this last function represents a trade-off between useful and lost energy. The results are compared with the performance of the device at maximum power output. A macroscopic thermoelectric generator (TEG) model with three possible sources of irreversibilities is considered: (i) the electric resistance R for the Joule heating, (ii) the thermal conductances Kh and Kc of the heat exchangers between the thermal baths and the TEG, and (iii) the internal thermal conductance K for heat leakage. In particular, two configurations of the macroscopic TEG are studied: the so-called exoreversible case and the endoreversible limit. It shows that for both TEG configurations, the efficiency at maximum Omega function is always greater than that obtained in conditions of maximum efficient power, and this in turn is greater than that of the maximum power regime.

Recent Progress of Nanogenerators for Green Energy Harvesting: Performance, Applications, and Challenges.

Natural sources of green energy include sunshine, water, biomass, geothermal heat, and wind. These energies are alternate forms of electrical energy that do not rely on fossil fuels. Green energy is environmentally benign, as it avoids the generation of greenhouse gases and pollutants. Various systems and equipment have been utilized to gather natural energy. However, most technologies need a huge amount of infrastructure and expensive equipment in order to power electronic gadgets, smart sensors, and wearable devices. Nanogenerators have recently emerged as an alternative technique for collecting energy from both natural and artificial sources, with significant benefits such as light weight, low-cost production, simple operation, easy signal processing, and low-cost materials. These nanogenerators might power electronic components and wearable devices used in a variety of applications such as telecommunications, the medical sector, the military and automotive industries, and internet of things (IoT) devices. We describe new research on the performance of nanogenerators employing several green energy acquisition processes such as piezoelectric, electromagnetic, thermoelectric, and triboelectric. Furthermore, the materials, applications, challenges, and future prospects of several nanogenerators are discussed.

Thermoelectric transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbon heterostructures.

In this paper, we numerically analyze the thermoelectric (TE) properties of recently synthesized graphene nanoribbon (GNR) heterostructures that are obtained as extensions of pristine armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs). After simulating their band structure through a nearest-neighbor tight-binding model, we use the Landauer formalism to calculate the necessary TE coefficients, with which we obtain the electrical conductanceG, thermopowerS, thermal conductanceKe, linear-response thermocurrentIth/ΔT=GS, and figure of meritZT(using literature results for the phonon thermal conductanceKph), at room temperature. We then compare the results for the nanoribbon heterostructures with those for the pristine AGNR nanoribbons. The comparison shows that the metallic AGNRs become semiconducting (with much higherZTvalues) after the inclusion of the extensions that transform them into heterostructures and that some heterostructures have higher values ofZTwhen compared to the semiconducting pristine AGNRs from which they have originated.

Experimental study of the potential for thermal energy recovery with thermoelectric devices in low displacement diesel engines.

Improving the thermal efficiency of internal combustion engines is essential to reduce the operating costs and complaints with the increasing environmental requirements. Thermoelectric generators came up as an opportunity to reuse part of the heat loss with the exhausts. This paper evaluates the performance of a thermoelectric generator to improve the efficiency of a stationary diesel engine under different rotational speeds and torques. The data was obtained through CFD simulations and validated with experiments. The proposed solution uses a cooling system to control the temperature of the thermoelectric modules. The results show that the torque and the rotational speed of the engine are the most significant performance parameters of the thermoelectric generator, while the influence of the cooling water temperature has a minor but still significant influence. Additionally, the results show a change from 1.3% to 6.2% in the thermoelectric generator efficiency, while the exergy efficiency varies between 1.8% and 7.9%. The exergy balance indicates that most of the exergy is loss because of the irreversibilities in the thermoelectric generator and of the exergy loss with the exhausts. The exergy loss can be reduced by optimizing the design of the heat exchanger. Since the thermoelectric generator improved the engine efficiency by a marginal 0.2%-0.8%. Therefore, it is important to further research how to improve the design of heat exchangers for thermoelectric generators to increase their energy conversion efficiency and their impact on the energy efficiency of internal combustion engines.

Strain-controlled thermoelectric properties of phosphorene-carbon monosulfide hetero-bilayers.

The application of strain to 2D materials allows manipulating the electronic, magnetic, and thermoelectric properties. These physical properties are sensitive to slight variations induced by tensile and compressive strain and the uniaxial strain direction. Herein, we take advantage of the reversible semiconductor-metal transition observed in certain monolayers to propose a hetero-bilayer device. We propose to pill up phosphorene (layered black phosphorus) and carbon monosulfide monolayers. In the first, such transition appears for positive strain, while the second appears for negative strain. Our first-principle calculations show that depending on the direction of the applied uniaxial strain; it is possible to achieve reversible control in the layer that behaves as an electronic conductor while the other layer remains as a thermal conductor. The described strain-controlled selectivity could be used in the design of novel devices.

Mechanosynthesis and Thermoelectric Properties of Fe, Zn, and Cd-Doped P-Type Tetrahedrite: Cu12-xMxSb4S13.

This contribution deals with the mechanochemical synthesis, characterization, and thermoelectric properties of tetrahedrite-based materials, Cu12-xMxSb4S13 (M = Fe2+, Zn2+, Cd2+; x = 0, 1.5, 2). High-energy mechanical milling allows obtaining pristine and substituted tetrahedrites, after short milling under ambient conditions, of stoichiometric mixtures of the corresponding commercially available binary sulfides, i.e., Cu2S, CuS, Sb2S3, and MS (M = Fe2+, Zn2+, Cd2+). All the target materials but those containing Cd were obtained as single-phase products; some admixture of a hydrated cadmium sulfate was also identified by XRD as a by-product when synthesizing Cu10Cd2Sb4S13. The as-obtained products were thermally stable when firing in argon up to a temperature of 350-400 °C. Overall, the substitution of Cu(II) by Fe(II), Zn(II), or Cd(II) reduces tetrahedrites' thermal and electrical conductivities but increases the Seebeck coefficient. Unfortunately, the values of the thermoelectric figure of merit obtained in this study are in general lower than those found in the literature for similar samples obtained by other powder processing methods; slight compositional changes, undetected secondary phases, and/or deficient sintering might account for some of these discrepancies.

Virtual Reality Applied in a Thermoelectric Power Plant Planning

Abstract The planning of a new thermal power plant is linked to the various decision elements and evaluation criteria. Factors such as the plant's geographic positioning, primary energy supply points, paths, and means of delivery of this primary energy should be analyzed. Similar studies are imposed when studying the change of a thermoelectric plant's primary energy source occurs. In Brazil, several plants are currently investigating the exchange of their primary fuel from oil to gas due to the decrees issued by ANEEL. This paper presents software, which uses virtual reality to assist in the various stages of the planning process and in the analyses that must be performed. This software was developed for the Hidrotermica Group and had as the primary target the Borborema Thermoelectric Power Plant.

Riesgos y peligros laborales en termoeléctricas: una revisión de la literatura de 2007 a 2017 / Occupational hazards and risks in thermoelectric plants: a review of the literature from 2007 to 2017

Resumen Introducción: la demanda de energía eléctrica va de la mano del aumento de la población, por lo que para satisfacerla se debe asegurar la capacidad de generación eléctrica, esto incentivaría la construcción de plantas térmicas; aumentando los trabajadores expuestos a los peligros de termoeléctricas. Esta revisión tiene como fin identificar cuáles riesgos y peligros en termoeléctricas han sido estudiadas en el mundo durante el periodo 20072017. Objetivo: identificar, a través de una revisión bibliográfica, los principales peligros a que están expuestos los trabajadores de termoeléctricas. Materiales y métodos: se realizó una revisión sistemática teniendo en cuenta las recomendaciones de la guía PRISMA, se tuvieron en cuenta estudios acerca de los factores de riesgos a los que se exponen el personal de operaciones de centrales térmicas; para la búsqueda se establecieron dos algoritmos con descriptores DeCS y MeSH en las bases de datos Scopus, Pubmed, Scient Direct y Google académico, encontrándose 21 publicaciones que cumplían con los criterios de inclusión. Resultados: los peligros más relevantes para los trabajadores en termoeléctricas son físicos, ergonómicos, químicos, biológicos y psicosociales. Conclusión: los trabajadores de termoeléctricas están expuestos a varios peligros que pueden aumentar el riesgo de ocasionarles enfermedades respiratorias, musculoesqueleticas, pérdida de capacidad auditiva, cáncer, leucemia y su variedad, pericarditis, Alzheimer, Parkinson, daño genético y celular; también se pudo evidenciar que el efecto en la salud por exposición en campos magnéticos requiere de estudios de más profundidad.

Abstract Introduction: the demand for electric power, goes hand in hand with the population increasing, to satisfy it, the power generation capacity must be ensured, this would encourage the construction of thermal plants; increasing the exposition of workers to the thermoelectric plant dangers. This review aims to identify which risks and dangers in thermoelectric plants have been studied in the world for the period 2007-2017. Objective: identify the main hazards to which thermoelectric workers are exposed through a literature review. Materials and methods: a systematic review was carried out taking into account the recommendations of the PRISMA guide, studies were taken into account about the risk factors to which thermal power plant operations personnel are exposed; Two algorithms with DeCS and MeSH descriptors were established in the Scopus, PubMed, Scient Direct and Google academic databases, with 21 publications meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: the most relevant hazards for thermoelectric workers are physical, ergonomic, chemical, biological and psychosocial. Conclusion: thermoelectric workers are exposed to various hazards that may increase the risk of respiratory, musculoskeletal, hearing loss, cancer, leukemia and its variety, pericarditis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, genetic and cellular damage; It could also be evidenced that the effect on health by exposure in magnetic fields requires more in-depth studies.

Data supporting the evaluation of the energy recovery potential of thermoelectric generators in diesel engines.

Power generation with thermoelectric devices in internal combustion engines is an alternative to recover some of the energy loss with the exhausts. This data article supports a study that assesses the potentialities of energy recovery with thermoelectric generators in diesel engines and its influence on gaseous emissions. To this end, a set of experiments was developed with a thermoelectric generator and a waffle heat exchanger. The experimental design included nine operation points of the engine to characterize the energy recovery of the thermoelectric generator under different exploitation conditions. Three different fuels (i.e., diesel, B5, and B10) were used. The experiments were developed in a test bench with three data acquisition systems to measure the operational variables (e.g., electric power generation, pressure drop, temperature, etc.). Moreover, a gas analyzer (BrainBee AGS-688), Bacharach gas analyzer (PCA 400), and a smoke meter (BrainBee OPA-100) were used to measure exhaust emissions.

Modulating the Spin Seebeck Effect in Co2FeAl Heusler Alloy for Sensor Applications.

The thermoelectric conversion technique has been explored in a broad range of heat-flow sensors. In this context, the Spin Seebeck Effect emerges as an attractive candidate for biosensor applications, not only for the sensibility improvement but also for the power-saving electronic devices development. Here, we investigate the Longitudinal Spin Seebeck Effect in films with a Co 2 FeAl/W bilayer structure grown onto GaAs (100) substrate, systems having induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy combined with cubic magnetic anisotropy. From numerical calculations, we address the magnetic behavior and thermoelectric response of the films. By comparing experiment and theory, we explore the possibility of modulating a thermoelectric effect by magnetic anisotropy. We show that the thermoelectric voltage curves may be modulated by the association of magnetic anisotropy induction and experimental parameters employed in the LSSE experiment.

Estado da arte dos aterros de resíduos sólidos urbanos que aproveitam o biogás para geração de energia elétrica e biometano no Brasil / State of art of landfills that use biogas for the generation of electrical energy and biomethane in Brazil

RESUMO O aproveitamento do biogás gerado a partir da decomposição da matéria orgânica dos resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU), além de ser uma fonte renovável de energia, também contribui com a redução do lançamento de metano e do dióxido de carbono (CO2) na atmosfera, que são importantes gases de efeito estufa (GEE). No entanto, o biogás é pouco explorado no país e seu potencial continua sendo controverso, principalmente devido às diferentes metodologias de avaliação adotadas. A pesquisa realizada mostra que, entre 2004 e 2015, foram implantadas nos aterros de resíduos do País somente 9 usinas termelétricas, que juntas geram 86,3 MW de energia elétrica, e duas usinas que produzem biometano. Considerando as estimativas existentes, o Brasil explora somente de 7 a 20% do biogás produzido nos aterros de resíduos para fins energéticos.

ABSTRACT The use of biogas generated by the decomposition of organic matter from urban solid waste, besides being a renewable source of energy, also contributes to the reduction of the methane and carbon dioxide's release into the atmosphere, which are significant greenhouse effect gases (GHG). However, biogas is little explored in the country and its potential remains controversial, mainly due to the different adopted methodologies of evaluation. This research shows that, between 2004 and 2015, only nine thermoelectric plants were implanted in waste landfills in the country, which together generated 86.3MW of electricity and two plants that produced biomethane. Considering the existing estimates, Brazil exploits only 7 to 20% of the biogas produced in landfills for energy purposes.

Design of Nano-Structured Micro-Thermoelectric Generator: Load Resistance and Inflections in the Efficiency.

In recent years the interest for the harvest of energy with micro thermoelectric generators ( µ TEG) has increased, due to its advantages compared to technologies that use fossil fuels. There are three ways to improve the performance of the device, by modifying its structure, type of material and operation control. In this study, the role of the load resistance R L on the performance of a µ TEG with nanostructured materials is investigated. The interaction of the load resistance with the thermoelements exhibits interesting features, arising from the coupling of the temperature-dependent electrical and thermal transport properties at different temperature ranges and the architecture of nanostructured thermoelectric materials. This coupling results in inflections on the efficiency, i.e., maximum and minimum values of the efficiency at higher temperatures, 600-900 K. We show the explicit dependence of the performance of the µ TEG in terms of the load resistance and discuss the underlying physics. The unusual features of the efficiency of nanostructured thermoelectric materials are a result of the behavior of the power factor and the nonequilibrium properties of the system. We also analyze the effect of the geometric shape of the thermoelements on the device. We determine the performance of the µ TEG, evaluating the generation power and its efficiency. The results show that the efficiency of the device can decrease or increase depending on the value of R L , while the power decreases with an increase of the load resistance.

Peltier Supercooling in Transient Thermoelectrics: Spatial Temperature Profile and Characteristic Cooling Length.

Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) can reach temperatures below that obtained with a steady-state current by applying an electrical current pulse which enables a transitory state in a Peltier device. This effect is known as supercooling. In this paper, we study characteristics parameters, such as the minimum cooling temperature and spatial temperature profile, in a TEC operated under current pulses and a cooling load ( Q c ) . Numerical analysis for a one-dimensional thermoelectric model of the cooling system is developed, and a novel MATLAB programming code is proposed for the transient state based on finite element analysis. We also investigate the influence of the thermoelement's length upon the cooling mechanism. A new parameter called the "characteristic cooling length" is proposed to describe the length in which the minimum cooling temperature occurs along the elements of a TEM. Results show the transient temperature profiles along the elements of the semiconductor P-type element, and a "characteristic cooling length" is characterized. We also propose a general principle, and the lowest cooling temperature values are obtained for a semiconductor's small length and variable pulse cooling load under current pulse operation. The present study will serve as guidance for the geometric design of TECs under current pulse operations.

Exposición a contaminantes provenientes de termoeléctricas a carbón y salud infantil: ¿Cuál es la evidencia internacional y nacional? / Exposure to contaminants from coal-fired thermoelectric plants and children's health: what is the international and national evidence?

Resumen: Las centrales termoeléctricas (CTE) a carbón representan un riesgo para la salud de las comunidades expuestas. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura científica nacional e internacional enfocada en los efectos en salud de niños y la exposición a emisiones al aire provenientes de CTE a carbón. Se inclu yeron 21 artículos para su revisión en texto completo, donde se midieron efectos en salud infantil relacionados a presencia de biomarcadores de exposición y efecto, daños perinatales, neuroconductuales y respiratorios principalmente. La exposición a emisiones de CTE a carbón en el embarazo se asoció a niños con bajo peso y muy bajo peso al nacer, menor talla, menor diámetro de Circunfe rencia del Cráneo (CC) y prematuridad; el diámetro de CC aumentó en recién nacidos después del cierre de CTE. Se encontraron menor coeficiente de desarrollo (CD) y coeficiente intelectual (CI) en niños expuestos a emisiones de CTE a carbón comparados con no expuestos; CD aumentó cuando la central fue cerrada. Por otro lado, vivir en zonas con fuentes de emisión de mercurio (asociadas a CTE y plantas de cemento que funcionan con carbón) se asoció con mayor riesgo de autismo. En salud respiratoria, los artículos fueron consistentes en reportar menor función pulmonar en niños residentes en zonas expuestas a fuentes de combustión de carbón comparados con grupos de niños no expuestos. Es muy necesario abrir el debate en Chile sobre los riesgos controlables a los que se enfrenta la población infantil a consecuencia de plantas generadoras de energía instaladas en Chile.

Abstract: Coal-fired power plants (CFPP) represent a health risk to the exposed communities. A review of national and international scientific literature was made focused on the health effects on children and exposure to air emissions from CFPP. Twenty-one articles were included for full-text review, where effects on child health mainly related to the biomarkers presence of exposure and effect, pe rinatal, neurobehavioral and respiratory damages were measured. Exposure to CFPP emissions in pregnancy was associated with low birth weight and very low birth weight, shorter height, smaller head circumference (HC) diameter, and prematurity; the HC diameter increased in newborns after the CFPP closure. Lower coefficient of development (CD) and intelligence quotient (IQ) were found in children exposed to CFPP emissions compared with unexposed ones; CD increased when the plant was closed. On the other hand, living in areas with mercury emission sources (associated with CFPP and cement plants that work with coal) was associated with an increased risk of autism. In respira tory health, the articles were consistent with reporting lower pulmonary function in children living in areas exposed to coal combustion sources compared with groups of unexposed children. There is a great need to open the debate in Chile on the controllable risks faced by the child population as a result of power generation plants located in Chile.