Catalytic Converters
Introduction
There are millions of cars on the road in the United States, and each one is a source of air pollution. Especially in large cities, the amount of pollution cars produce everyday is a lot. To solve those problems, many laws have been enacted restricting the amount of pollution that cars can produce. To make their cars as pollution-free as possible, automakers have made many refinements to car engines and fuel systems and have developed the catalytic converter. The catalytic converter treats the exhaust before it leaves the car, and removes a lot of the pollution.
In this project, we will study catalytic converters to find out how they work, and what their effects on our planet and society are. We predict that catalytic converters can change the amounts of products that result from the burning of gasoline, and think that these devices do a good job of making cars as pollution-free as possible.
How does a catalytic converter work?
In order to reduce emissions, modern car engines carefully control the amount of fuel they burn. They try to keep the air-to-fuel ratio very close to the stoichiometric point, when all of the fuel will be burned using all of the oxygen in the air. For gasoline, the stoichiometric ratio is about 14.7:1. However, this fuel mixture actually varies from the ideal ratio quite a bit during driving.
The main emmissions of a car engine are nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, and water vapor.
Nitrogen gas makes up about 78% of the air, and most of this gas just passes right through the car. Carbon dioxide is one of the products of combusion. The carbon in the fuel bonds with the oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide. Water vapor is the other product of combusion. The hydrogen in the fuel bonds with the oxygen in the air to form water vapor. However, the combustion process is never perfect, so some smaller amounts of more harmful emissions are also produced in car engines. They include carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides. These are the three main regulated emissions, and also the ones that catalytic converters are designed to reduce.
Most modern cars are equipped with three-way catalytic converters. Three-way catalytic converters regulate the three harmful emmissions produced from car engines. The converter uses two different types of catalysts, a reduction catalyst and an oxidization catalyst. Both types consist of a ceramic structure coated with a metal catalyst.
...ese dangerously harmful gasses would be released into our atmosphere by all combustion engines. Although the catalytic converter when operating at its optimal temperature can break down over 95% percent of the harmful gasses produced by the engine it does not do a well at all when not at high temperatures. It takes about five miles of driving for most vehicles to reach a temperature at which the reactions will reach near completion, before this temperature the catalytic converter does practically nothing to convert these harmful gases. Some catalytic converters now have coils running from the engine to the catalytic converter to heat the catalytic converter to its optimal temperature soon after the engine has started to produce harmful gasses. With this improvement the catalytic converter can effectively reduce almost all of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.
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However, under normal driving conditions an engine will encounter lean conditions when cruising on the highway (better mileage) and rich conditions when accelerating (better power). The lean condition results in oxide and harmful nitrogen production. Rich conditions result in carbon monoxide production. For this reason, catalytic converters are used on an engine’s exhaust. The catalyst material in a cat is a wire mesh or honeycomb.
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Catalytic converters have become a major importance in our world’s fight for global warming. Why? Because these catalytic converters are greatly reducing the amount of air pollution coming from the exhausts of our automobiles. “Two components of automobile exhausts that help form photochemical smog are nitrogen oxides and unburned hydrocarbons. In addition, automobile exhaust may contain considerable quantities of carbon monoxide” (Brown, LeMay, Bursten, Murphy, & Woodward, 2012). However, adding catalytic converters to the exhaust of automobiles will cause a chemical reaction to occur and help somewhat prevent the amount of pollution that exits the exhaust.
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In today’s society, cars and other transportation vehicles produce pollution, harming the environment as well as one’s health. Engines produce toxic substances such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. However, the invention of the catalytic converter has helped reduce the pollution. Catalytic converters were first used due to the contractions on toxic emission regulations in the 1970s. The catalytic converter “turn the harmful chemicals in vehicle exhausts into harmless gases such as steam” (Woodford). These catalytic converters are essential to creating a less polluted atmosphere. An engine with and without a catalytic converter differs greatly and the reactions occurring are very significant in understanding the role of the converter;
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In the mid-seventies basic steps were taken to reduce the pollution caused by cars, which of course at their heart is an internal combustion engine. The first and most obvious source of pollution from cars is the Exhaust pipe. Exhaust emissions contain carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. Also a small amount of solid matter, or particulates, is emitted in the form of lead from the tetraethyl lead used in fuel to increase its octane rating. It was found that these pollutants were having an adverse effect on the environment and in extreme cases were actually causing visible ‘smog.’ But exhaust emissions in pre-70’s cars were only accounting for 55% of automotive air pollutants. Another major source was emissions of hydrocarbons from the engine’s crankcase. They occurred because during combustion there is a small amount ...
Warmer global temperatures affect farming, wildlife, sea levels and natural landscapes. The effects of car pollution are widespread, affecting air, soil and water quality. Nitrous oxide contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer, which shields the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide mix with rainwater to create acid rain, which damages crops, forests and other vegetation and buildings. Oil and fuel spills from cars and trucks seep into the soil near highways, and discarded fuel and particulates from vehicle emissions contaminate lakes, rivers and wetlands. Air pollution from cars and trucks is split into primary and secondary pollution. Primary pollution is emitted directly into the atmosphere; secondary pollution results from chemical reactions between pollutants in the atmosphere. The following are the major pollutants from motor vehicles: Particulate matter (PM), Hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrogen oxides (Nix), Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Hazardous air pollutants (toxics), Greenhouse
Catalytic converters are an integral part of converting much of the pollution that comes out of a car’s exhaust. Almost every car since the year 1970 has come with a catalytic converter in order to reduce harmful emissions. I chose to explain the function and chemistry behind the catalytic converter because I have an interest in cars and I wanted to know more about them.
Automobiles release the unburnt carbon monoxide due to which ultraviolet rays got a way to enter into an atmosphere.