Catalytic converters produce co2

Company profile: Econic Technologies makes catalysts that build carbon dioxide into performance polymers. UK startup Econic Technologies is developing catalysts that could take some of that CO 2 and lock it up in high-performance polymer materials. While Econic is not the only company developing ways to make such materials, its catalysts are some of the most active and selective available, claims commercial director Rulande Henderson.

The product polymer chains contain precisely alternating carbonate and ring-opened epoxide groups, with no ether linkages from direct epoxide-epoxide coupling. Incorporating CO 2 also means less of the more expensive petrochemical-derived epoxide is needed, which has both financial and environmental benefits. You need a very well-tuned catalyst to make the polycarbonate rather than cyclic carbonates, which are easier to make, but less valuable.

Initially, the company is developing catalysts to produce polyols for incorporation into polyurethanes. The polyols are reacted with di-isocyanates to make polyurethanes, which can be used for a variety of applications including foams for mattresses or car seats, or resistant coatings in paints. Using highly purified CO 2 to make polymers is all very well, says research scientist Emmalina Hollis, but there would be significant added advantages if you could use waste carbon dioxide without having to go through so many purification stages.

Econic is partnering with polymer makers to develop and demonstrate its catalysts. Econic is now partnering with polymer manufacturers to further develop the catalysts and demonstrate their use within their plants. One would have to license the technology from a direct competitor. In association with Commonwealth Chemistry. Voice of The Royal Society of Chemistry. Yield of epoxidation reaction increased, and waste reduced, by using CO 2 -derived atomic oxygen and plasma-based conditions.

During cold starts the catalytic converter is ineffective. And if there is insufficient oxygen caused by operation in a closed building or with a defective oxygen system , there will not be enough oxygen for oxidizing the CO to CO 2. What is the problem with pick-up toppers, open tailgates, and holes in the vehicle body? For carbon monoxide poisoning to occur, a person must breath the CO. Holes allow the CO to enter the vehicle. Every year several people die while sitting in old vehicles with defective exhaust systems and holes rusted through the vehicle floor.

When a vehicle is moving, holes or openings in the rear of the vehicle are under a suction which pulls in exhaust fumes. All holes in the car body must be sealed. The suction effect applies when a rear tailgate window or the trunk is left open or when persons ride in the back of a pick-up truck under a topper. The suction produced as the truck is driven and the lack of ventilation in the topper combine to produce a potentially deadly combination.

Normally active children who sleep while in the back of a pick-up may be sleepy because they are breathing carbon monoxide. In California, several cases of children dying in the back of pick-ups under a topper have been documented. When stranded in a snowstorm we are told to open a window on the downwind side of the car, to operate the engine for only a short time until the car warms, then shut it off. Is this correct? Caution should be used with the mentioned procedures.

With the engine off snow may cover the exhaust pipe. An open window on the downwind side of the car will likely be in a low pressure area where exhaust gases could collect and be pulled into the car. Since the amount of carbon monoxide is much higher during initial start-up and decreases dramatically after the catalytic converter warms, continually starting the engine produces more CO than letting the engine run.

This increases the reaction rate. Noble metals" such as platinum, palladium and rhodium function as catalysts and increase the rates of the reactions shown in Equations 1 - 3. The catalyst is usually a mixture of at least two metals because one serves as a catalyst for the oxidation reaction and the other serves as a catalyst for the reduction reaction. Modern catalytic converters are constructed from a tough, heat-resistant ceramic material that is coated with catalysts like the noble metals mentioned above.

The function of the ceramic is to provide a large surface area for the catalyst. As the emission gases pass through the catalytic converter, molecules temporarily "stick" to the metal surface and react together. The more surface area that is available, the more opportunities there are for reactions, because the catalyst keeps the molecules near each other to give them time to react.

Corning is currently developing ceramics that are strong and durable enough that catalysis "cells" less than 0. Research into optimal ratios of metals in catalytic converters continues to improve catalytic performance as well.

Catalytic Converters.