Catalytic converter is used in vehicles using ICE engines. Vehicles, trucks, and SUVs run on gasoline or diesel fuel. Gasoline contains hydrocarbon molecules made of carbon and hydrogen. When gasoline is burned in the engine’s combustion chamber, a chemical reaction causes these hydrocarbons to break apart into their essential part’s pure energy.
However, some hydrocarbons remain intact when they leave the tailpipe as an exhaust gas called carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide negatively affects the environment and human health because it is piousness when inhaled. A catalytic converter was developed by researchers in the 1960s to reduce damaging emissions from vehicles’ tailpipes.
In addition to gasoline and diesel fuel, catalytic converters can also be used in lead-burn engines and kerosene heaters and stoves. With the innovation of technology, most of the vehicles running on roads seem to be electric vehicles. The E.V. doesn’t have tailpipe emissions, which raises whether electric vehicles have catalytic converters? To find the answer to this question, read out the entire blog.
What Is a Catalytic Converter?
Catalytic Converter
A catalytic converter is a device that reduces the emission of toxic gases from the exhaust of a car. It’s a component of a car’s exhaust system and comprises a ceramic honeycomb coated with precious metals such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium. The catalytic converter is located in the pipe between your engine and muffler.
The entire system works by burning off harmful pollutants at high temperatures, so they don’t reach the air you breathe while driving. The catalyst inside this device burns off carbon monoxide (C.O.), hydrocarbons (H.C.), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other toxins emitted when fuel burns inside an internal combustion engine (ICE).
Catalytic converters are a piece of excellent industrial equipment used in almost every field, I.e., they are used in forklifts, electrical generators, trucks, motorcycles, mining equipment, locomotives, ships, wood stoves and automobiles.
Catalytic converters produce a good yearly turnover due to high industry demand and increased sales. It is predicted that the revenue of catalytic converters in Brazil for motor vehicles will be approximately 863.01 million U.S. dollars by 2025.
The revenue of exhaust gas catalytic converters from 2014 to 2025 is
| Years | Turnover in U.S dollars (million) |
| 2014 | 436.32 |
| 2015 | 477.53 |
| 2016 | 4060.33 |
| 2017 | 571.84 |
| 2018 | 674.71 |
| 2019 | 671.43 |
| 2020 | 513.25 |
| 2021 | 590.98 |
| 2022 | 691.23 |
| 2023 | 837.93 |
| 2024 | 852.35 |
| 2025 | 863.01 |
Types of Catalytic Converters
There are three types of catalytic converters
- Two-way catalytic converter
- Three-way catalytic converters
- Three-way plus oxidation converters
What Does a Catalytic Converter Do?
Catalytic converters reduce the number of pollutants that are released into the atmosphere. Catalytic converters are devices that convert harmful emissions into less harmful emissions. They’re used in vehicles, trucks, and buses to help eliminate cancer-causing hydrocarbons from exhaust fumes. The catalytic converter also reduces lead and carbon monoxide from getting into the environment.
Catalytic Converters are made up of 3 Main Parts
- An oxidizing catalyst – is what changes the exhaust gases into less harmful substances
- A metal substrate – this supports the other two parts
- Substrate support – this holds everything together
Do Electric Vehicles have Catalytic Converters?
Electric vehicles are becoming more and more common, but there is still a lot of confusion surrounding the catalytic converter. The truth is that electric vehicles do not have catalytic converters. In fact, they don’t need one at all.
Electric vehicles do not have catalytic converters because catalytic converters are for the conversion of toxic pollutants into water and less harmful gases, and electric vehicles do not have any exhaust pipe emissions that will be needed to be converted.
Catalytic converters have initially been developed to reduce smog from automobiles. They did this by converting harmful gases into less harmful ones and releasing them through the tailpipe. Catalytic converters are designed specifically for internal combustion engines (ICEs), which run on gasoline or diesel fuel.
However, E.V.s do not use any such fuel source; they instead run-on electricity stored in batteries. Because of this difference between ICEs and E.V.s, it makes sense why you wouldn’t need a catalytic converter if your vehicle runs on electricity instead of gas or diesel fuel: The process would be redundant since there aren’t any toxic emissions being produced at all.
Which vehicles Have a Catalytic Converter?
Vehicles running on fossil fuels have catalytic converters as they emit poisons and harmful substance. It contains a nitrous oxide, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. If these gasses are inhaled, they can cause significant damage; to reduce pollution, ICE vehicles running on fossil fuels use catalytic converters to convert these poisonous substances into less harmful water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
Converters are used in gasoline-powered vehicles and trucks and in diesel engines. They’re responsible for reducing harmful emissions such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by up to 95%. Electric vehicles don’t have them because they don’t emit those harmful pollutants; they run on electricity from the grid or a battery pack rather than burning fuel inside the engine.
Safety from Stealing
In addition to ICE vehicles, hybrid vehicles also have catalytic converters. So all the ICE, plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles have catalytic converters. The good news is that most people who would want to steal your E.V. won’t be able to get their hands on one anyway especially if you live somewhere cold!
Because many states have adopted California emission standards for vehicles sold there. All new vehicles must have a catalytic converter even if they aren’t required elsewhere. This means auto manufacturers must install them on all models sold in California starting in 2020.
On top of that, thieves don’t usually target older vehicles since they’re more likely not worth stealing anyway; when they do go after older models like these, though, it tends toward cheaper ones instead. So there is no need to worry about losing out either way.
Does Tesla have catalytic converters?
Tesla vehicles are designed to be more environmentally friendly than most traditional vehicles. Tesla doesn’t have any catalytic converters because they are zero-emission vehicles, and they do not produce a tailpipe emission.
Tailpipe emissions are expected in ICE vehicles running on fossil fuels due to the burning of fossil fuels; harmful pollutants are produced, which are injurious to health and hazardous to the environment. So due to the absence of ICE engines, Tesla doesn’t have catalytic converters.
While it’s true that Tesla vehicles don’t have catalytic converters, they do have something called a thermal reactor which is sometimes called a “catalytic converter”. This device is designed to reduce emissions without relying on a chemical reaction like the one used in conventional catalytic converters.
Culprits Behind the Theft of Catalytic Converters
You may have heard that catalytic converters are the culprit behind the theft of electric vehicles. In fact, catalytic converter theft is a growing problem. The truth is that catalytic converter theft has become a problem that it’s worth talking about because it could impact your life or someone you know.
Catalytic converters are an essential part of any car’s exhaust system and help reduce harmful emissions. They can cost anywhere between $1000 and $5000 to replace, depending on where you live, what kind of car you drive, and whether other parts are involved in changing out your old one.
Which Vehicles are Least Likely to have Catalytic Converters Stolen?
Act of the U.S. government to keep climate safe imply that every ICE and hybrid vehicle must have catalytic converters installed. The step is taken because the ICE vehicle and hybrid vehicles emit harmful substances that can be filtered by the palladium metal installed in catalytic inverters when run on fossil fuel.
The price of palladium is high when sold on the black market. The cost of one ounce of palladium is $300. Which makes it more prominent for being stolen. However, some of the vehicle’s catalytic converters are of no use, and these vehicles’ catalytic converters are least likely to be stolen.
Some of the vehicles have catalytic inverters already installed in their engines, and some vehicle catalytic inverters have cheap metal used instead of palladium. That’s why they are least likely to have catalytic converters stolen.
How to Protect Your Catalytic Converter
Here are some ways to protect your catalytic converter:
- Install a kill switch. This is the simplest way to protect your catalytic converter and the most common one. The idea behind a kill switch is that if someone breaks into your vehicle, they won’t be able to drive it away without disconnecting it from its battery.
- When you turn off your vehicle with a standard key, you’re also turning off all power from the vehicle’s electrical system, including any computers or other equipment that runs on electricity inside the vehicle. If someone tries driving off with an unconnected kill switch, they’ll get nothing but dead silence instead of roaring engine noises and sudden acceleration.
- Install tracking devices like LoJack for electric vehicles™ or OnStar® System. These systems will let you know if anyone tampers with any part of your vehicle while it’s parked; this includes stealing parts like wheels, rims and tires and covers tampering such as unauthorized use of GPS navigation features or remote starting systems.
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