APPLICATION OF CATALYTIC CONVERTER It basically converts harmful gases into harmless gases, whichare environment friendly, with the

help of a catalyst.Engine exhausts having harmful gases like CO, NOx & HC which are converted into harmless gases like CO2, N2 & H2O respectively with the use of catalytic converter
Two-way catalytic converter is widely used on diesel engines to reduce hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. They were also used on gasoline engines in American- and Canadian-market automobiles until 1981. Because of their inability to control oxides of nitrogen, Three-way (oxidation-reduction) catalytic converters have been used in vehicle emission control systems in the United States and Canada; many other countries have also adopted stringent vehicle emission regulations that in effect require three-way converters on gasoline-powered vehicles. A three-way catalytic converter has three simultaneous tasks: 1. Reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen: 2NOx xO2 + N2 2. Oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide: 2CO + O2 2CO2 3. Oxidation of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) to carbon dioxide and water: CxH2x+2 + [(3x+1)/2]O2 xCO2 + (x+1)H2O

The primary use of this element is in automobiles as a catalytic converter, which changes harmful emissions from the engine into less polluting gases. Three-way catalytic converters can store oxygen from the exhaust gas stream, usually when the air-fuel ratio goes lean.When insufficient oxygen is available from the exhaust stream, the stored oxygen is released and consumed. Alack of sufficient oxygen occurs either when oxygen derived from NOx reduction is unavailable or when certain maneuvers such as hard acceleration enrich the mixture beyond the ability of the converter to supply oxygen. Rhodium-based catalysts are used in a number of industrial processes; notably, in the automobile catalytic converters and for catalytic carbonylation of methanol to produce acetic acid by the Monsanto process. It is also used to catalyze addition of hydrosilanes to molecular double bonds, a process important in manufacture of certain silicone rubbers.Rhodium catalysts are also used to reduce benzene to cyclohexane.
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Rhodium finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is electroplated on white gold and platinum to give it a reflective white surface. This is known as rhodium flashing in the jewelry business. It may also be used in coating sterling silver to protect against tarnish, which is silver sulfide (Ag2S) produced from the atmospheric hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Solid (pure) rhodium jewelry is

very rare, because the metal has both high melting point and poor malleability (making such jewelry very hard to fabricate) rather than due to its high price. Additionally, iassures that most of its jewelry usage is in the form of tiny amounts of power (commonly called rhodium sponge) dissolved into electroplating solutionsts .

It is also used as a filter in mammography systems because of the characteristic X-rays it produces. Rhodium is also used to coat some parts of high-quality fountain pens due to its high reflectance, as well as its chemical and mechanical resistance. Rhodium neutron detectors are used in combustion engineering nuclear reactors to measure neutron flux levels a method that requires a digital filter to determine the current neutron flux level, as there are three signals generated: immediate, a few seconds later, and a minute later, each with its own signal level, and all three are combined in the rhodium detector signals. The three Palo Verde nuclear reactors each have 305 rhodium neutron detectors, 61 detectors on each of 5 vertical levels, providing an accurate 3-D "picture" of reactivity and allowing fine tuning to most economically burn the nuclear fuel.

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ADVANTAGES OF CATALYTIC CONVERTER

An increase in peak engine horsepower can be achieved. Gas mileage can be increased in a well designed aftermarket system. Aftermarket parts can be cost effective replacements for stock parts when OEM parts are not readily available (or are more expensive). Aftermarket parts are often available in longer lasting stainless steel, whereas many OEM exhaust components are made from mild steel and have a limited lifespan.

DISADVANTAGES OF CATALYTIC CONVERTER

Cost is high. Volume required is high Some amount of weight is added There is over temperature problem. Heat shields required otherwise areas around it will beseverely due to thermal stresses. Catalytic material is lost. Unleaded fuel is required otherwise lead will be replacethe catalyst and so no reactions will be carried out Removing or bypassing a catalytic converter may interfere with emission laws in some jurisdictions. A noticeable increase in noxious fumes may result (particularly when the catalytic converter is removed or bypassed, and/or when exhaust outlets are rerouted to the side of the car as with side-exit exhausts). Engine sound may be more noticeable to both driver and pedestrians, resulting in increased noise pollution. An incorrectly designed exhaust can cause loss of low-RPM torque, and a decrease in fuel economy.

THE FUTURE OF CATALYTIC CONVERTER

The Four-Way Catalytic Converter consists of a three-way catalytic converter and one more component, which reduces CO2. The different components reduce all known harmful car emissions. The newly-designed component uses a completely different process than any of the units of the three-way catalytic converter. First the exhaust from the car goes through the three-way catalytic converter. Then the exhaust goes through a pipe into a chamber containing a fan on one end. The fan would blow all of the exhaust against a high aluminum content zeolite on the other end of the chamber. It is a CO2 adsorbent which means that only CO2 would be let through to the subsequent chamber (University of Oviedo). A CO2 sensor would be in the pipe leading to the next chamber. Then, when approximately 14.67 grams of CO2 are collected in the next chamber, (Toreki) the fan would deactivate, and the excess exhaust would drift out into the air. These exhausts consist of H2O, N2, and oxygen and are completely harmless to the environment and humans (Nice). Back in the chamber with the CO2, the chamber would seal itself off to prevent other gases from entering. Then, 16 grams of burning magnesium would be dropped into the chamber from a chute above (Toreki). The supply of magnesium could be refilled at gas stations like gasoline. The reaction causes the reactants to reach a temperature of 2000 degrees Celsius(Toreki). As well, the reaction emits a bright light. Surrounding the chamber are three layers. The innermost layer is made of a see-through material embedded with quantum dots. When the quantum dots are manufactured in a certain way, they emit light when heated to a high temperature (Poole & Owens). The second layer contains a layer of photovoltaic cells (i.e., solar panels). The third, outermost, layer is an outside shell that contains the entire assembly. So, when the reaction is initiated by the introduction of magnesium into the chamber, it heats up the quantum dots and causes the dots to emit light. Then, the light from the quantum dots as well as from the reaction itself charges the photovoltaic cells. The electrical energy generated by the photovoltaic cells goes down a conducting wire to the car battery, thereby continuously generating energy for the car. The by-products of this reaction are white magnesium oxide and black carbon. When the reaction is over, the floor of the reaction chamber opens up so that the byproducts drop down into a collection chamber. The byproducts could be emptied out at gas stations, where they could be transported to processing centers that can utilize the byproducts. For instance, white magnesium oxide can be used to preserve books, and black carbon can act as a substitute for salt in melting snow. This process is repeated over and over again throughout a car ride.

Quantum dots are found in two aspects of the Four-Way Catalytic Converter: on the inner layer of the reaction chamber and on the photovoltaic cells. Based on current technologies, when a light photon hits a photon absorber, it typically releases only one electron. Once it becomes commercially feasible to manufacture photon absorbers at the quantum scale (i.e., less than 100 nanometers in length, width and height), it has been shown that one photon could release as many as seven electrons (Jobwerx). This would make the Four-Way Catalytic Converter almost

seven times more efficient. As well, quantum dots of a heat-resistant material would have to be manufactured for the inner layer of the reaction chamber. Manufacturers would have to use extremely acute and fast machines to efficiently mass-produce the quantum dots.

CONCLUSION

1- It is found that the reason behind the increase of total hydrocarbon (THC) in compressed natural gas (CNG) operated vehicle over that produced in gasoline operated vehicle is due to the difficulty in oxidizing the unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust gases, where the oxidization of hydrocarbons is one of the functions of the threeway catalyzer. The exhaust hydrocarbons of a gas-operated vehicle have a significantly different composition to those of a gasoline-operated vehicle. 2- The effectiveness of catalytic converter (catalyzer) in the condition of idle state is much better than that for transient state based on the European Driving Cycle (ECE-15) shown in Figure 3, where in the case of idle state, the catalyzer is fully warm and hence operating at it's maximum efficiency, while for the case of transient state condition the effectiveness is not very well, where the catalyzer was faced by air flow and temperature changes rapidly. 3- In the case of catalyst conversion efficiency, the catalytic converter reduces the amount of both CO and THC, while increases the amount of CO2 (idle state). This is attributed to the fact that the vehicle emission levels are quite low and the noble metal catalyst required for the THC emissions would easy remove most of the CO under these lean conditions. Furthermore, the catalytic converter is more effective in MPI-gasoline than those for the other two injection systems (transient state). 4- It is hope that the results in this study can help to adopt and developed Cairo driving cycle, which is more realistic to represent Cairo traffic conditions, and can be used for tests of vehicles running in Cairo in future in order to report the real world performance of vehicles in

service. Thus providing information for Egyptian's energy and environmental ministry on how to set up proper national standards for the motor vehicles fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. It is also hoped that the proposed methods could be used for other big cities as well as for other types of vehicle

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I pay profound greatefulness to my project guide Lecturer prof. L.K. TOKE (Mechanical Engineering Department) whose guidance & constant motivation led me towards the succeeful completion of the seminar work . I acknowledge with a deep sense of gratitude, the encouragement received from them . Last but not the least I would like to thank all the staff members (Mechanical Department ) & my friends who helped me directly or indirectly for the successful completion of this seminar report

Computer genreted model

Oxidation & reduction process