Catalytic Converters :: essays research papers fc

Catalytic ConvertersNotice when a vehicle drives by nowadays, that it is so often quieterthan those loud oldies that pour out the blue smoke. Ever wonder just what isunderneath a vehicle that makes the unseasoned ones so much cleaner. It is called acatalytic converter. The main function of a catalytic converter is to decreasepollution emitted from a vehicles exhaust. The concept behind this is to add acatalyst and force a reaction between the automobiles exhaust and oxygen in theconverter. To see just how this happens lets look inside of a catalyticconverter.A catalytic converter is do up mainly of a mufflerlike chamber whichcontains porous, heat-resistant materials coated with either platinum orpalladium. These materials are known as catalysts. A catalyst is an elementwhich although make a reaction to occur, does not change at all during thereaction. This is the idea behind a catalytic converter. The carbon monoxidegas and hydrocarbons emitted from the engine will motivate alo ng the exhaustsystem until they reach they catalytic converter. There it comes into contactwith the described catalyst. This forces a reaction between the carbon monoxideand hydrocarbons with the oxygen inside the converter creating products ofcarbon dioxide and water vapor. The reaction which occurs inside the converteris as followsThe main compounds involved are carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons(compounds of hydrogen and carbon), as well as oxygen. When these three arecombined with the provided catalyst, a reaction occurs as above. During thereaction the oxygen splits apart the carbon monoxide and the hydrocarbons andallows them to combine with its elements forming the aforementioned products.The catalytic converter first make an appearance in vehicles in 1975.The government of the United States of America had established a law controllingauto emissions. There was one minor particular proposition that was outlined in the use of acatalytic converter, however. There must only be th e use of lead-free gasoline.The reasoning behind this was that if a lead gasoline was used the lead wouldcover the platinum and palladium pellets rendering them ineffective and therebyceasing the reaction to exist. Phosphorus had much of the same effect on thepellets so the gasoline must contain minimal amounts of it as well.A catalytic converter can be located in every new vehicle today, unlessthe vehicle runs on diesel fuel. In case you were interested in finding thecatalytic converter nearest you, you may want to replication a look under the nearestvehicle. It looks like the muffler only it is a little bit larger and more to