Can a deteriorated three-way catalytic converter still be used?
1 Answers
A deteriorated three-way catalytic converter cannot continue to be used. Here are the specific details: 1. Function of the three-way catalytic converter: The three-way catalytic converter is the most important external purification device installed in the automobile exhaust system. It converts harmful gases such as CO, HC, and NOx emitted by automobile exhaust into harmless carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen through oxidation and reduction. Since this catalytic converter can simultaneously convert the main harmful substances in the exhaust into harmless substances. With increasingly stringent environmental protection requirements, more and more automobiles are equipped with exhaust catalytic converters and oxygen sensor devices. It is installed in the engine exhaust pipe and, through redox reactions, converts carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hence it is also called a three-way (efficiency) catalytic converter. 2. Principle of the three-way catalytic converter: When high-temperature automobile exhaust passes through the purification device, the purifying agent in the three-way catalytic converter enhances the activity of the three gases CO, HC, and NOx, promoting certain oxidation-reduction chemical reactions. Among them, CO oxidizes at high temperatures into colorless, non-toxic carbon dioxide gas; HC compounds oxidize at high temperatures into water (H2O) and carbon dioxide; NOx is reduced into nitrogen and oxygen. Therefore, its function is to transform the three harmful gases into harmless gases, thereby purifying the automobile exhaust.
