How does a catalytic convertor work?
In a catalytic converter, the catalyst’s job is to speed up the removal of pollution. As the gases from the engine fumes blow over the catalyst, chemical reactions take place on its surface, breaking apart the pollutant gases and converting them into other gases that are safe enough to blow harmlessly out into the air.
What does a catalytic converter Di?
Your catalytic converter is named as such because it converts toxins into less harmful byproducts, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide. Without this component, your vehicle will no longer be filtering and reducing harmful emissions, including hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide.
What is the catalyst in catalytic converter?
The catalyst uses a ceramic or metallic core (known as a “substrate”) with a coating containing the precious metals, platinum, palladium and rhodium. These metals are the actual “Catalysts” that give the converter its name. They promote the required chemical reactions, but they themselves are not affected by it.
How many catalytic converters are in a car?
While most production cars have only one catalytic converter, some do come with two. Cars with dual exhaust often have two catalytic converters — one for each set of pipes running from the headers to the rear of the vehicle.
What metal is in catalytic converters?
The three metals used in catalytic converters — rhodium, platinum and palladium — are part of a category known as platinum group metals, or PGMs, which are known for their catalytic properties.
How do thieves steal catalytic converters?
Thieves generally steal a catalytic converter by sliding underneath the car and sawing it out of the exhaust system. With a hand-held power saw, the whole operation can take just a few minutes. Thieves target new cars because the concentration of valuable rare metals in a catalytic converter degrades over time.
What kind of metal is in catalytic converters?
platinum
Catalytic converters contain trace amounts of precious metals, including platinum, palladium and rhodium, which in early March hit nearly $30,000 per ounce.
Where is a catalytic converter found?
In today’s cars the catalytic converter is found underneath the vehicle towards the exhaust outlet, a position that makes it accessible to thieves who can cut the whole unit out from underneath the car.
How many catalytic converters are stolen?
Thefts are running at more than 10,000 a year nationwide – with, on average, 30 converters hacked off exhaust systems every day.
What is a catalytic converter in a car?
The catalytic converter is a large metal device, which is bolted to the underside of a car. This large metal device consists of both the input pipe, otherwise known as the “converter’s input”, and the output pipe, which is also known as the “converter’s output”. How does a Catalytic Converter work?
Do catalytic converters reduce NOx in diesel engines?
Catalytic converters in diesel engines do not work as well in reducing NOx. One reason is that diesel engines run cooler than standard engines, and the converters work better as they heat up. Some of the leading environmental auto experts have come up with a new system that helps to combat this.
Does a catalytic converter reduce air pollution?
The catalytic converter does a great job at reducing the pollution, but it can still be improved substantially. One of its biggest shortcomings is that it only works at a fairly high temperature. When you start your car cold, the catalytic converter does almost nothing to reduce the pollution in your exhaust.
How much is my catalytic converter worth?
Depending on how much of each metal there is, their value could be as little as $200 or more than $1,000, so there is some real value hidden inside catalytic converters. Common Problems With Catalytic Converters