Catalytic Converters

How the Catalytic Converter works

There are millions of cars on the road that are potential sources of air
pollution. In a major effort to reduce vehicle emissions, carmakers have
developed an interesting device called a catalytic converter, which treats
the exhaust before it leaves the car and removes a lot of the pollution.

Pollutants Produced the Engine

In order to reduce emissions, modern cars have been designed to carefully

control the amount of fuel they burn. The goal is to keep the air-to-fuel ratio
very close to the "stoichiometric" point, which is the calculated ideal ratio of
air to fuel. Theoretically, at this ratio, all of the fuel will be burned using all
of the oxygen in the air. [For petrol, the stoichiometric ratio is about 14.7 to
1, meaning that for each pound of fuel, 14.7 pounds of air will be burned.
The fuel mixture actually varies from the ideal ratio quite a bit during
driving. Sometimes the mixture can be "lean" (an air-to-fuel ratio higher
than 14.7); and other times the mixture can be "rich" (an air-to-fuel ratio
lower than 14.7).]

Two-way

Two simultaneous tasks:

Oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide: 2CO + O2 → 2CO2
Oxidation of unburnt hydrocarbons (unburnt and partially-burnt fuel) to
carbon dioxide and water: CxH2x+2 + [(3x+1)/2] O2 → xCO2 + (x+1) H2O
(combustion reaction).
This type of catalytic converter is widely used on diesel engines to reduce
hydrocarbon and carbon-monoxide emissions. They were also used on
gasoline engines until 1981. Because of their inability to control nitrous
oxide NOx, they were superseded by three-way converters.

Three-way

Three simultaneous tasks:

Reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen: 2NOx → xO2 + N2
Oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide: 2CO + O2 → 2CO2
Oxidation of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) to carbon dioxide and water:
CxH2x+2 + [(3x+1)/2]O2 → xCO2 + (x+1)H2O
.
While a three-way catalyst can be used in an open-loop system, NOx
reduction efficiency is low. Within a narrow fuel/air ratio band surrounding
stoichiometry, conversion of all three pollutants is nearly complete.
However, outside that band, conversion efficiency falls very rapidly. When
there is more oxygen than required, the system is said to be running lean
(as all the fuel got burnt, the emission of CO and hydrocarbons are
minimized) and thereby, the reduction of NOx is not favored. When there is
excessive fuel, the engine is running rich; the oxidation of CO and
hydrocarbons is not favored.