Modification of Catalytic Converters Thereby Bettering their Performance and Reducing The Cost

With the invention of IC engines and their increased use in automobile industries, pollution has become a cause for major concern since the last two decades. We are not new to the destructive effects, global warming has had on the environment. Automobile exhausts contain hazardous gases like Nitrogen oxide gases, Carbon Monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons. These poisonous gases pose a great threat to life on the planet and the environment that we thrive in. For the reduction of these exhaust emissions, catalytic converters have been introduced in automobiles which provide a medium to carry out simultaneous oxidation and reduction of these exhaust gases using selective catalysts. Catalysts are those substances which never participate in the reactions but speed up the reaction processes. Normally, noble metals such as Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd) and Rhodium (Rh) are used in manufacturing of catalytic converters. In this review an attempt is made, to study various materials like activated carbon, zeolites, sponge iron, SCR and TiO2, which can replace platinum, Palladium and Rhodium from catalytic converters, to improve operating ease and economy.