The widespread introduction of such catalytic converter systems in North America (starting in 1976) and Europe (1986) resulted in a marked decrease in metropolitan air pollution from harmful tailpipe emissions despite a growing population of vehicles.
The development of the first three-way catalytic converter in 1979/80 marks a milestone in exhaust gas technology. This device was able to catalyze the conversion of the three main pollutants (unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides) simultaneously.
As a general principle, a catalyst allows chemical conversions to desired products to occur more rapidly and at lower temperatures. For this reason, in addition to pollution control, industrial catalysts find use in a wide field, be it the processing of petroleum to produce transportation fuels or the production of chemicals including polymers and pharmaceuticals. Ideally, the catalyst itself is not chemically consumed during this process. Automotive emissions catalytic converters consist of special combinations of precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium dispersed on high surface area carriers which in turn are coated onto the walls of ceramic or metallic monolithic structures. In the modern three-way catalytic converter, uncombusted fuel residues are oxidized with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water, nitrogen oxides are converted to ubiquitous nitrogen, and toxic carbon monoxide is oxidized with oxygen to carbon dioxide. Like this, a typical catalytic converter is capable of destroying around 98 percent of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides produced by the car's engine.
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