{"id":4556,"date":"2020-07-14T21:52:13","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T21:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carexamer.com\/blog\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:46:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:46:51","slug":"how-do-catalytic-converters-work-in-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carexamer.com\/blog\/how-do-catalytic-converters-work-in-cars\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Catalytic Converters Work in Cars?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Car’s have a huge number of different parts responsible for different mechanical processes, and they all work together to make your vehicle work as it should. As a result of all of that, however, a lot of other things happen outside of making your vehicle do what it needs to as well. One of the largest of those producing a byproduct is the combustion in your engine, and as a result, you may well be asking how do catalytic converters work to make all of the emissions that come from it safer to the world. It’s a whole area of science of its own.\u00a0That is all because of the unique process behind how it works. In reality, it’s a complicated process of making a chemical reaction happen as fast as it possibly can (because that’s what a catalyst is), and making sure that it is done smoothly. All of that happens in one silent movement too, so there’s lots of fascinating information to understand.
Let\u2019s take a look.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why We Need a Catalytic Converter <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like we touched on above, this all boils down to one thing and one thing only. Combustion. The reaction that goes on inside of your engine to make your car burn fuel and move as a result. It isn\u2019t all as smooth sailing as it should be, and that\u2019s why we need a catalytic converter to do what it does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a perfect world, it\u2019s actually really simple. Perfect combustion means that a clean burn takes place, and as a result, there\u2019s no remnant other than carbon dioxide and water. These are both relatively harmless. That\u2019s all well and good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What isn’t so practical, however, is the fact that this is near enough impossible, especially in an environment like a car engine<\/a>. Instead, the burn is inefficient for the most part, and carbon and hydrogen (or hydrocarbons) are released as a result. These, unlike their harmless counterparts, are really bad news.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of all of that, we have purpose built catalytic converters to help make the impossible, more possible; even if that isn’t a direct result. 
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What a Catalytic Converter Does <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These unclean burns that we mentioned do a few different things that the catalytic converter needs to address how it works. To understand how and most importantly if catalytic converters do work, we need to address what these are and the exact way a catalyst helps to put them right in the long term and the short term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduction Catalysts <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, we have reduction catalysts which are in your converter. This deals with the issue of your available oxygen binding to the nitrogen in the air under heat by making them split up again into simply oxygen and nitrogen. These are massively apparent in the air around us already, so that therefore means that everything is okay to move forwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxidation Catalyst <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Aside from this reaction, there\u2019s another one that takes place as well in your converter to make sure everything is nice and efficient. This time, it makes things seven more efficient by using that oxygen created from the reduction reaction. By using this, we solve the original problem we had from the unclean burn, and use the oxygen to bind to the carbon monoxide (CO) that was produced (making carbon dioxide, CO2), as well as binding to the hydrogen to make water (H2O). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the Catalytic Converter Reacts <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that we have covered the essentials of what\u2019s going on, the very last thing to look at is how this is all occurring at the same time and in a way that can keep happening over time. Again, it does actually come down to just a few simple components. Mainly, that comes from three metals that react with the gasses we\u2019re looking at to cause the reaction. They are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n