What is a Catalytic Converter and How They Work

A catalytic converter, A.K.A catalytic oxidizer, is a component that is found within the exhaust system of an automobile.

The duty of the catalytic converter is to burn hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide to generate nitrogen. It does this by utilizing rhodium/palladium and platinum as catalysts, and at the same time it decreases the nitrogen oxides. This means that, it splits the oxygen atom instead of adding it. This procedure helps in reducing smog and toxic tailpipe discharges.

In the year 1968, within the United States, new rules were implemented about automobile emissions and that was when catalytic converters all of a sudden became widespread in every state. Now it's being utilized in almost every automobile around the world. Catalytic converters can't operate where there is lead. Therefore, it's introduction eradicated leaded gasoline. You'll also discover that catalytic converters are used in industrial developments to decrease all the unsafe emissions. But it's more common in vehicles.

The byproducts of a vehicle engine are:

Water
Nitrogen (only some)
Carbon dioxide

This is similar to the chemical output of animals. In practice, though, the combustion procedure within an engine has never been 100% effective as it creates leftover unburned hydrocarbons.

Before the 1960s, these emissions were just permitted to be set free into the air, but it was later realized that it is a public environmental health danger.

Now, if a catalytic converter is fixed to the tailpipe of a vehicle, it rapidly dissolves a very hefty percentage of the leftover unburnt hydrocarbons, and the outcome is a much cleaner emission. But, because the catalytic converter needs to operate at a high speed to catch the unburnt hydrocarbons before it goes out of the tailpipe, this now puts a limit on how effective the oxidation procedure can be.

Over the years the carbon monoxide emissions of automobiles have become clean, and this's due to the growing superiority of catalytic converters. The difficult part though is,how to lowering CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. The reason for this is due to the fact that carbon dioxide cannot be dissolved into something more harmless. It's an acknowledged greenhouse gas and it contributes to global warming.

Catalytic converters in vehicles operate at a high temperature of around 750 degrees F or 400 degrees C.

Catalytic converters within the industry can sometimes be larger than those utilized in vehicles and it's also much hotter.

There're some standard mechanisms of catalytic converters, and they're:

1) Heat exchanger
2) Catalytic bed - this takes the form of either a honeycombed ceramic or ceramic beads concealed in the catalyst.
3) A line burner