**The Catalytic Converter: A Crucial Component in Reducing Harmful Emissions**

In today's world, we're not talking about resonators, straight pipes, or back exhaust systems. We're discussing the catalytic converter, a vital component designed to reduce harmful emissions from vehicles.

**What is a Catalytic Converter?**

A catalytic converter is engineered to convert pollutants and toxins into harmless substances. The first one was patented by French chemical engineer Eugene Houdry in 1950. In a previous video, we discussed how gasoline is made up of hydrocarbons, which, when burned incompletely, produce carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburnt hydrocarbons.

**The Role of Catalytic Converters**

These converters are specifically designed to reduce these three emissions: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburnt hydrocarbons. The process involves using rare metals like platinum, palladium, and rhodium to catalyze the reactions. These metals help pull oxygen off nitrogen atoms, converting them into benign N2 gas.

**The Structure of a Catalytic Converter**

A catalytic converter contains ceramic materials that get super hot, allowing the reactions to occur efficiently. Modern converters are designed with honeycomb chambers, which provide the most surface area possible for the reactions to take place. This design also affects exhaust flow as minimally as possible.

**Performance and Efficiency**

Modern catalytic converters work efficiently, even improving horsepower in some cases. However, cutting out honeycombs or modifying a catalytic converter can seriously damage your car's performance. It's essential to understand that these components are an intricate part of a vehicle's system, requiring specialized tuning and maintenance.

**The Impact on Emission Pollutants**

American emission pollutants have dropped an average of over 70% since the introduction of catalytic converters. This is a significant achievement in automotive history. When comparing pictures of major cities before and after the implementation of these converters, it's clear that they've played a crucial role in reducing pollution.

**Conclusion**

The catalytic converter is a vital component in reducing harmful emissions from vehicles. By understanding its purpose, structure, and efficiency, we can appreciate the importance of this technology in improving air quality. Subscribe to Donut Media for more informative content on automotive topics!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Catbacks, resonators, straight pipe.Today, we're not talkingabout any of those things.We're talking about thecatalytic converter.A catalytic converter is designedto reduce harmful emissions.(coughing)In another video, wetalked about how gasolineis made up of hydrocarbons.If everything goes perfectly,all of the hydrogensand all of the carbonscombine with all of the oxygento give us carbon dioxide and water.No big whoops.But the combustion inan engine isn't perfect.Some of the reactions are incomplete.And because of the heat in the engine,we create some moleculesthat don't normally occur.So one thing we get is carbon monoxide.It's bad.It gets rid of the ozone layer.- Shit- And it's also poisonous.- (beep)- The heat of the combustionmeans that some of thenitrogen, because it's 78%of the air, gets jacked upand bonds with oxygen inany number of combinations.And that's also bad for your health,and it makes our rain acidic.It's just bad news.- Hey, that's tough.- And lastly, if some fuel isn't burnt,those harmful hydrocarbonsget shot out the tailpipe too.(engine revs)Catalytic convertersare designed to reduceall three of these emissions.And the first one was patented by Frenchchemical engineer, Eugene Houdry in 1950.We talked a little bitabout catalysts in our videoon tires, and you cancheck that out right here.Most basically, a catalyst is somethingthat helps a reaction take place.The things in here act as a catalystto help convert youremissions to make them safer.You see what I did there?(maniacal laughing)Catalytic converter.Alright, so what's in here?There's ceramic.That doesn't react withanything, but it gets super hot,and it stays super hot sothe reactions can happen.If you're going for an emissions test,make sure your catalytic converter's hot.Next, there's rare metals,platinum, palladium,and rhodium that react with the emissions.They're each worth about $30a gram, and there's betweenthree and seven grams of themin a catalytic converter.So that's why people steal them.But, the metal in aconverter is worth aboutas much as a catalyticconverter, so don't be a jerk.First is a reduction catalyst.Platinum and rhodium pulloxygen off the nitrogen atomsso the nitrogen getsshot out as benign N2,the way it came in in the first place.The second stage is an oxidation catalyst.Platinum and palladiumuse the oxygen moleculesin the exhaust, and the freed up oxygenfrom the first stage in two ways.First, it helps bind themto the carbon monoxideto get CO2, the samestuff you breathe out.And second, this stageconverter will oxidizeany unburnt hydrocarbonsas they pass through.Some cars have a pre catcloser to the engine.It's still a catalytic converter, butbecause it's so close,it gets hotter quickerand it does a superduper job at converting,but because it gets hotter,it can wear out faster.The oxygen sensor beforethe cat lets your car knowif there's enough oxygenburning the fuel in the engine.If too many hydrocarbons come through,a computer will adjust to mix accordingly.Another oxygen sensor afterthe cat let's your engine knowif it's pulling in enough oxygento complete the reaction in the converter.It's all super high techand it happens super fast.So do catalytic convertersrob you of horsepower?(gasping)Before we answer that, let's cut it open.(sawing)(metal clanging)(pounding)(sawing)Inside, you can see the honeycomb, andif I hadn't beaten the crap out of itwith that angle grinder, we'dhave nice clear channels.And you can still see light through it.(whistling music)(air whistling)This is a good cat.(cat meowing)These chambers are designed to have themost surface area possibleto make the reactions happen.They're also designed toaffect the exhaust flowas minimally as possible.Some brain trust cut these honeycombs outto open up the airflow, sothat when they get inspected,it looks like they still got one.But cutting these out meansthe air is suddenly sittingin a big hollow chamber,instead of shootingstraight down a streamlined pipe.Cars are an intricate systemof computers and tuning,and unless you're skilledat this type of thing,just ripping out a part of your exhaust,that can seriously damage your car.Modern catalytic convertersare designed to be efficient.There's even performancecatalytic convertersthat have been shown tohelp improve horsepower.The main thing is thatcatalytic converters work.American emission pollutants havedropped an average of over 70%.That's a big deal.And when you look atpictures of any major city,before and after we started using them,it's equally as easy to arguethat the catalytic converteris one of the most importantadvancements in automotive history.Subscribe to Donut.If you liked watching thisvideo, please share us.The more we grow, the morecool stuff we can do for you.Follow me on Instagram @bidsbarto.Follow Donut on Instagram @DonutMedia.If you wanna have a bad asscar, check out Tony's videoon performance mods that actually work.You like speed?Check out this video on F1.Don't tell my wife I took thecatalytic converter off the car.