Monday, December 16, 2013
Purpose of Catalytic Converters
The catalytic converter is part of a vehicles exhaust system and serves to reduce the amount of toxic gases emitted into the atmosphere. These surprisingly simple components have served to dramatically reduce the amount of vehicle emissions produced over the past few decades. Today, they are installed on all factory-produced vehicles sold in the United States.
History
The Engelhard Corporation invented the first production-ready catalytic converter in 1973. A couple years later, the Environmental Protection Agency introduced more stringent regulations relating to vehicle emissions. Confronted with these new requirements, auto manufacturers quickly embraced the new earth-friendly product. The 1975 vehicle model year was the first time that the catalytic converter came pre-installed on new cars.
Effects
The first catalytic converters on the road were known as 2-way catalytic converters. Cars with such technology are capable of converting hazardous carbon monoxide to harmless carbon dioxide. They also break down toxic hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water. In 1981, 3-way catalytic converters became commonplace. Cars with this newer technology are also capable of reducing nitrogen oxides to regular nitrogen and oxygen.
Function
The catalytic converter converts toxic gases to harmless gases via a platinum-iridium catalyst. As the hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide pass through this catalyst, the gases are oxidized. This causes them to break down into less toxic elements. Nitrogen oxides require a separate process, known as reduction, to eliminate toxicity.
Considerations
The catalytic converter is typically situated below the front passenger seat, between the engine and the rear exhaust. In order to function properly, the combustion chamber must be fed the correct ratio of gasoline to oxygen. If too much oxygen or gasoline is introduced, excessive hydrocarbons and other toxic gases will be produced. These extra particles make it hard for the catalytic converter to keep up with the inefficiency of the engine. To eliminate such a scenario, most modern-day vehicles feature fuel injection and oxygen sensors to monitor the oxygen-to-gas ratio entering the combustion chamber.
Potential
Though catalytic converters have been integral in reducing vehicle emissions, there is still more that can be done. The biggest downside to catalytic converters is that they require a great deal of heat to function properly. This heat is generated by the engine, but it takes several minutes after you turn your car on before the catalytic converter becomes effective. Currently, engineers are tinkering with ways to speed up the heating process so that vehicle emissions are cleaned by the catalytic converter during these first minutes of vehicle operation.
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