Cars generate a great deal of fumes and gases, also known as emissions, when they’re catalytic converter running. Emissions contribute to air pollution, which is catalytic converter why the clean air was passed in the United States in 1963 to help reduce the amount of pollution produced by a range of industries.
The National Emissions Standards Act, an amendment made in 1965 to the Clean Air Act, set the first federal vehicle emissions standards. Each state has regulations that adhere to federal standards, with many states requiring that all registered cars be tested to evaluate the output of emissions.
The modern exhaust system on vehicles features a range of parts that helps control emissions and make them more environmentally friendly. Among these parts is a catalytic converter, which helped many car manufacturers meet the standards set by the National Emissions Standards Act.
A catalytic converter is an important part of the exhaust system. Keep reading to find out more about the role it plays in your car.
Who Invented the Catalytic Converter?
The history of the catalytic converter dates to the end of the 19th century, when some prototypes were developed in France. In the mid-1950s , a French mechanical engineer, received a patent for his research to develop catalytic converters for gasoline engines.
Houdry’s development of the catalytic converter came from his concerns about the toll smokestack and automobile exhaust was having on air pollution. He had seen results of studies in Los Angeles and started working on converters for smokestacks.
Catalytic converters were further developed after the emissions control regulations that began in the early 1960s. The first production catalytic converter was created in 1973 at Engelhard Corporation, and widespread use of the part began around 1975.
What Does a Catalytic Converter Do?
A catalytic converter uses a chamber called a catalyst to change the harmful compounds from an engine’s emissions into safe gases, like steam. It works to split up the unsafe molecules in the gases that a car produces before they get released into the air.
The catalytic converter is located on the underside of a vehicle and looks like a large metal box. There are two pipes coming out of it. The convertor utilizes these two pipes and the catalyst during the process of making the gases safe to be expelled.
Gases are brought in from the “input” pipe connected to the engine of a vehicle. These are blown over the catalyst, which causes a chemical reaction that breaks apart the pollutants. The less-harmful gases now travel through the second pipe, or the “output,” that is connected to a car’s tailpipe.
What Is Inside a Catalytic Converter?
So what is a catalytic converter made of? The catalyst inside a catalytic converter is made typically from platinum or a similar metal, such as rhodium or palladium. Gases flow through a ceramic honeycomb structure located within the cat housing. This is lined with metals that have specific jobs that play a role in reducing emissions. There are two main types of catalysts that might be featured in a car:
- Reduction catalysts: Help reduce nitrogen oxide pollution by removing oxygen. Nitrogen oxides are broken up into nitrogen and oxygen gases, which on their own are harmless.
- Oxidation catalysts: Used to change carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide through an opposite process of adding oxygen.
Also located near the catalytic converter is an oxygen (O2) sensor, which works to tell a car’s electronic control unit (ECU) how much oxygen is found in the exhaust gases. This helps a vehicle run on a more efficient air/fuel ratio, allowing the engine to supply the converter with enough oxygen to complete the oxidation process.