How A Catalytic Converter Does What It Does

Catalytic converters are amazingly simple devices that are extensively used in all the automobiles running in the USA today. These devices are used to control the environmental pollution caused by burning fuel. It is interesting to understand how these converters achieve control over the constituents that get ejected through the exhaust pipes of an automobile. Here is a brief description of how a catalytic converter achieves pollution control.

A converter has an arrangement to react with the incoming gases chemically, and convert them into something that is not harmful to the environment. Hence the term "converter". These chemical reactions are aided by catalysts, which do not take part in the reaction, but accelerate it. Hence the term "catalytic". A catalytic converter consists of two different kinds of catalysts, one to reduce and one to oxidize. These catalysts have a ceramic honeycombing, which helps to catch more chemicals and increase the efficiency of conversion, and reduces the quantity of catalyst required for reactions. This is primarily done because the coating on this honeycombing is done using rare metals like platinum, rhodium/palladium. These are quite expensive, therefore efficiency is of prime importance. Some of the modern catalytic converters employ gold, which is cheaper, and has the tendency to increase oxidation.

Most commonly used today is a three-way catalytic converter. It is named that way because it converts three harmful exhaust gases into harmless products. In the first stage of conversion, reduction reactions take place with the help of platinum and rhodium. Harmful gases, NOx, get reduced first into free nitrogen and oxygen molecules, which are much less harmless. The reactions go as follows:

2NO => N2 + O2

2NO2 => N2 + 2O2

In the second stage, an oxidation reaction takes place which uses platinum and palladium as catalysts. This is the stage when the harmful hydrocarbons in the converter get converted into harmless gases. One such harmful gas is carbon monoxide. It gets oxidized to carbon dioxide.

The third stage of conversion is the control stage. This is the most important stage as it ensures that your catalytic converter keeps working fine. As the reactions above make it evident that oxygen is released in the reactions, the control system monitors this quantity and sends information to the engine’s computer. The computer registers this information and adjusts the air-to-fuel ratio accordingly. It is important to maintain the process close to the stoichiometric point so that the converter keeps working flawlessly. If not, it could result into a whole lot of troubles.

The working of this device is as simple as that. However, there is a life of this device too, beyond which it becomes useless. When this happens, you need to find someone who buys catalytic converters. Recycling catalytic converters after they have lived their life is a noble thing to do, as it helps to preserve the environment. Scrap catalytic converter prices can be easily found online through many agencies that recycle these devices.

For more information on alpha recycling, visit Globalrefininggroup.com

About The Author

Benjamin Harvey is a mechanical engineer specializing in automobiles, and is closely associated with working and researching on catalytic converters. He is of the opinion that www.globalrefininggroup.com is the best destination to sell catalytic converters.

Benjamin Harvey is a mechanical engineer specializing in automobiles, and is closely associated with working and researching on catalytic converters.