Name – Syed Shahrukh Syed Habeeb

Roll No – 27
Department of Mechanical
Engineering
Manav School of Engineering, Akola
Catalytic Converter
Need of catalytic converter
The purpose of the catalytic converter is to convert
harmful components of the automobile exhaust into
harmless compounds.

It speeds up the chemical reaction without being

itself changed i.e. without reacting with the
pollutants.
Location
 The harmful
compounds
Hydrocarbons in the form of unburnt gasoline.

Carbon monoxide formed by combustion of gasoline.

Nitrogen oxide created when the heat in the engine

forces nitrogen in the air to combine with the
oxygen.
Emission Norms in India
Bharat stage Emission Standards (BSES) are
emission standards instituted by the Government of
India to regulate the output of air
pollutants from internal combustion
engines and Spark-ignition engines equipment,
including motor vehicles.

The standards and the timeline for implementation

are set by the Central Pollution Control
Board under the Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change.
 Indian standard emissions for four wheelers

Standard Reference Year Region

India 2000 Euro 1 2000 Nationwide

Bharat Stage II Euro 2 2001 NCR, Mumbai,

kolkata, Chennai
April 2003 NCR, 13 cities

April 2005 Nationwide

Bharat Stage III Euro 3 April 2005 NCR, 13 cities

April 2010 Nationwide

Bharat Stag IV Euro 4 April 2010 NCR, 13 cities

April 2017 Nationwide

Bharat Stage V Euro 5 ….to be skipped

Bharat Stage VI Euro 6 April 2018 Delhi

April 2019 NCR

Till April 2020 Nationwide

 1. Indian standard emission for two wheelers

Standard Reference Date

Bharat stage II Euro 2 1 April 2000

Bharat stage III Euro 3 1 April 2010

Bharat stage IV Euro 4 1 April 2017

Bharat stage VI Euro 6 Mandatory till April

2020
 Brief History of the
Catalytic Converter.
The catalytic converter was first invented by Eugene
Houdry in the 1950’s.

Tetra-ethyl lead present in gasoline "poisoned" the

converter by forming a coating on the catalyst's
surface, effectively disabling it.

The catalytic converter was further developed by

John J. Mooney and Carl D. Keith at the Engelhard
Corporation, creating the first production catalytic
converter in 1973.
 Construction of a
Catalytic Converter
1- The catalyst support or substrate:
The catalytic converter housing consists of a
honeycomb core from inside. It is coated with
precious metals such as platinum and rhodium.
Along with these precious metals, the core is also
supported by a ceramic monolith that has
a honeycomb structure.
The substrate is structured to produce a
large surface area.
Construction of Catalytic
Converter
2- The washcoat:

A washcoat is a carrier for the catalytic materials

and is used to disperse the materials over a large
surface area.

The catalytic materials are suspended in the

washcoat prior to apply to the core.

Washcoat materials are selected to form a rough,

irregular surface, which greatly increases the
surface area which maximizes the catalytically
active surface available to react with the engine
exhaust.
 Construction of the
Catalytic Converter
3- The catalyst:

The catalyst itself is most often a mix of precious

metal.

The catalyst is added to the washcoat (in suspension)

before being applied to the core.

Platinum is the most active catalyst and is widely

used.

Palladium and rhodium are two other precious metals

used.
 Precious metals
The washcoat

The substrate
Types of Catalytic
Converters.
 Two Way Catalytic
Converter
A two-way catalytic converter has 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: CxH(2x+2) +
[(3x+1)/2] O2 → xCO2 + (x+1) H2O (a combustion reaction)
Unable to control NOx gases.
Two way catalytic
converter
 Three Way Catalytic
Converter
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:
CxH(2x+2) + [(3x+1)/2]O2 → xCO2 + (x+1)H2O
Three way catalytic
converter
 Catalyst used in
catalytic converter
Oxydization catalyst.

Platinum and Palladium.

Reduction catalyst.

Rhodium.
 Why only precious
metals as catalyst
A catalyst is a chemical substance that, when
added to a chemical reaction, does not affect the
thermodynamics of a reaction but increases the
rate of reaction.

Precious metals have high thermal stability.

Melting point of precious metals is higher than

base metals.
 Damage to Catalytic
Converters
Catalyst poisoning occurs when the catalytic
converter is exposed to exhaust containing
substances that coat the working surfaces,
encapsulating the catalyst so that it cannot contact
and treat the exhaust.
The most notable contaminant is lead .
Any condition that causes abnormally high levels of
unburned hydrocarbons — raw or partially-burnt fuel
— to reach the converter will tend to significantly
elevate its temperature, bringing the risk of a
meltdown of the substrate and resultant catalytic
deactivation and severe exhaust restriction .
 Negative Aspects of
Catalytic Converters.
Some early converter designs created a great deal of
restriction to the flow of exhaust, which negatively
affected vehicle performance, drivability, and fuel
economy .
It had been stated that catalytic converters are known in a
lot of cases to have an excessively long warm-up time
period, in a great deal of cases ranging up to thirty-
minutes.
Catalytic converter production requires palladium,
rhodium and/or platinum; these precious metals are very
expensive and found mostly in Russia.
 The Environmental
Impact of Catalytic
Converters
Reduces fuel economy of cars resulting in a greater use of
fossil fuels.
Although catalytic converters are effective at removing
hydrocarbons and other harmful emissions, most of
exhaust gas leaving the engine through a catalytic
converter is carbon dioxide (CO2), which is responsible for
the green house effect.
 Applications of catalytic
converter
A catalytic converter is a device used to reduce the
toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion
engine.
Catalytic converters are most commonly used in
motor vehicle exhaust systems.
Catalytic converters are also used on generator sets,
forklifts, mining equipment, trucks, buses, trains, and
other engine-equipped machines.
A catalytic converter provides an environment for a
chemical reaction wherein toxic combustion by-
products are converted to less-toxic substances.
 Conclusion
Environmental ecological and health concern result in
increasing stringent emissions regulations of pollutant
emissions from vehicle engine.
Among all the type of technologyies developed sofa use
of catalytic converter is the best way to control auto
exhaust emission.
The economical and reasons limited resources of platinum
group (Noble) metal and some operating limitations of
platinum group metal based catalytic converter have
motivated the investigation of alternative catalyst
materials.
Thank you