In this article we will talk about the car’s catalyst , what role it plays, how it is cleaned, how much is one worth and many other things that I bet you didn’t know about this quite important part of your car.
So let’s start with what is this “catalyst” or what is technically called a “catalytic converter”?
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If we analyze from a technical point of view, a catalyst is a part that causes a chemical reaction. This mostly applies to a car catalyst, but this car catalyst uses chemicals to convert harmful gases into less harmful gases before they are released into the atmosphere.
Anti-pollution measures are quite drastic, so these harmful substances must not reach the air. Most cars today are equipped with such catalysts.
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In older catalysts we found small ceramic balls inside, but now in modern catalysts we find a “honeycomb” type structure, where there are various chemical catalysts (often made of platinum), which produce various reactions for the purpose of burning more. complete gas.
These chemical catalysts are mostly metals such as platinum, rhodium and palladium. Do not expect to find surprising amounts of platinum or other precious metal now because a few grams are enough for a car catalyst.
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How does a car catalytic converter work?
To understand everything a little better, we will talk a little about chemistry. We have noticed so far that the role of this catalytic converter is to execute a more “complete” combustion of the exhaust gases, in order not to release into the atmosphere all the harmful gases created by the car engine.
We all know that the most harmful gases an engine produces are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other addictive substances.
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With the help of the substances listed above and in combination with high temperature, harmful substances react with catalysts and produce a chemical reaction that allows complete combustion of gases, resulting in water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas.
Surely you have seen that in some cars there is a little more water flowing on the exhaust, the water from there comes from the reaction of the exhaust gases with the catalyst. One thing that is quite important, these catalysts are located as close as possible to the engine, so that they have very high temperatures to allow chemical reactions. A car catalytic converter has an efficiency of 99% when it is new and decreases to 95% efficiency after several km.
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If the efficiency of the car catalytic converter is low or it got clogged, you will get a light on board (check engine), but we will talk a little later about the possibilities of failure of such a component.
For those of you with knowledge of chemistry, I will explain a little about the role of each metal in the car catalytic converter. So rhodium is a reducing catalyst, it restores the NO and turns everything into the most common nitrogen. Palladium and platinum are oxidants, they accelerate the oxidation of unburned hydrocarbons and then turn them into steam. In turn, CO is converted to carbon dioxide.
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Let’s move on to more serious things. How do we know when the car’s catalyst is clogged?
Well, there are some pretty clear symptoms that suggest that the catalyst is clogged. Of course, the car’s engine must be in very good condition in order to be able to know exactly if the catalyst is clogged.
But the first symptom would be that after starting the engine it would stop. Or another symptom when you press the accelerator, to feel a small delay followed by a very difficult ascent. Another symptom would be that of a much higher fuel consumption, and very low power.
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Also at idle the engine will shake very hard and when starting cold you can feel a strong and unpleasant odor. Also, if you hear a strange, rattling sound from the catalyst, then the ceramic honeycombs have most likely been destroyed. If this has happened then the only solution is to replace it.
How can we clean a catalyst?
Here are several methods, but the simplest would be to refuel with better gasoline (preferably with a higher octane number). Drive until the engine warms up very well.
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Then you start to rev it as much as you can, change gears to the red line, downshift faster and try to keep it as busy as possible. The engine will heat up together with the catalyst and thanks to the increased pressure (that’s why I say to change as “high” as possible) it will unclog the catalyst.
It should be noted that you should not try this in the city, at the same time proportional to the revs you must have a minimum speed of 90km / h in order to cool the catalyst, otherwise you risk melting the honeycombs inside. That would be the simplest and most inexpensive solution.
Another method would be to remove the catalytic converter from the car and clean it at a specialized service. Or if you know how to do it, you can take it down yourself, and use a bottle of stove cleaning solution.
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The steps would be the following: carefully remove the catalytic converter from the car, clean it a little with compressed air or water, enough to clean the “rough part” and then pour a bottle (500 ml) of stove or oven cleaning solution on one of the mouths, or any other solution as strong as possible, and cover the other side .
After the solution passes through the converter , start stirring the solution inside (with both ends covered), finally remove the solution and wash well with soap and water under pressure.
You can only do all these operations if the catalyst did not melt or the ceramic inside it broke.
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How much does it cost to replace the car’s catalytic converter?
A catalyst is quite expensive, which is why some opt for removal. This operation has both advantages and disadvantages, such as removing it which leads to a much higher engine noise, but at the same time you will never have problems with it and the car will perform a little better.
A new catalytic converter can cost from 100 euros to several thousand. And dismantling a catalyst is worth around 100 euros depending on the model.
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Usually the catalytic converter doesn’t break down so often, but still my advice is to refuel with high quality fuel. If the budget doesn’t always allow it, at least once in a while to refuel with higher quality fuels and drive it more sporty to unclogged it a little bit, especially for those of you who travel mainly in the city.