Catalytic Converters, what are they?
A Catalytic Converter (also can be known as a “catcon or “cat” - misspelled as catalitic) is a mechanism added to the exhaust system of a car. It is used to filter out harmful toxins (emissions) that would cause for air pollution and convert the gases (such as nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide) into less harmful gases for the environment.
The Catalytic Converter was first developed during the 1960’s by a French mechanical engineer named Eugene Houdry who specialized in catalytic oil refining. Houdry moved to the United States a decade prior to inventing the catalytic converter. After reviewing the smog reports from the city of Los Angeles, Houdry founded a company called Oxy-Catalyst whose purpose was to design a catalytic converter for engines that use gasoline as their primary fuel.
Inside a catalytic converter, there occurs a catalyst that creates a chemical reaction that changes the extremely poisonous toxins such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, which are produced by the burning of the car’s fuel. The catcon then changes the carbon monoxide into a less harmful type of pollution called carbon dioxide and the hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide also and sometimes even water.
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