A car’s internal combustion
engine is really powerful, it burns gallons of fuel to generate energy used in moving a car from one place to another. The waste product from the combustion of the fuel in the car engine is released through the exhaust and do contain harmful gases that can harm us. So to solve the problem of harmful emission from cars a catalytic converter is installed by car manufacturers.
If you own a car produced from 1975 upwards, chances are there’s a catalytic converter installed in your car. This wonderful gadget don’t ideally make the engine work or keep it running but perform the singular function of filtering out the toxic waste. So even if you don’t have a catalytic converter installed in your car, your engine will still run efficiently but won’t be able to stop toxic gas emission. The catalytic converter is also installed on kerosene heaters, stove, electrical generator, forklifts, mining equipment, locomotives and ships.
Owning a car comes with a lot of responsibility, you have to routinely maintain the car and replace worn out parts. The catalytic converter is one of these component that will need replacement. Therefore if you want to install a new catalytic converter in your car or maybe you are checking out a used car online and want to be sure if the catalytic converter is still good, then it is important to know about the durability of a catalytic converter. You will find the answer to this critical question in this article as well as useful information about a catalytic converter. Let’s delve straight into how this device works.
How does a catalytic converter work
A catalytic converter is made up of different materials and has a core and a substrate. The way it works is more simpler than u thinks and I’ll explain. The filtration is actually a chemical reaction involving a catalyst and the exhaust gas coming from the engine. The core is made with ceramics while the catalyts used can be platinum, palladium or rhodium. In others it can be cerium or nickel, even manganese and iron. The reaction has no effect on the catalyst, therefore the catalyst remain the same way it was. .
The catalytic converter works together with the control unit of the vehicle. The control unit constantly monitors the quantity of oxygen passing through the exhaust and adjust the air/fuel mixture accordingly for optimal performance. The catalytic converter is fitted under the belly of a car close to the engine and you might need to bend down to see it. The reason it fixed close to the engine is so that the heat produces by the engine can be transfer to the catalytic converter as the catalytic converter only works at a high temperature of about 800°C. This high temperature can only be produced by the engine.
A catalytic converter works by turning harmful by-product of combustion into harmless substances through a series of chemical reaction. The kind of chemical reaction that occurs will depend on the type of catalytic converter installed on a particular vehicle.