Nitric Oxide Catalysis in Automotive Exhaust Systems

Abstract

This review covers the literature through 1991 on nitric oxide catalysis as applied to automobile exhaust systems. Attention is given to the threeway catalyst system which simultaneously promotes the reduction of nitrogen oxides and the oxidation of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. These systems have been used on most passenger cars in the United States since 1982. Prior to 1980, emission control catalysts were oxidation catalysts, and reduction in exhaust nitric oxide was achieved using engine modifications (i.e., exhaust gas recirculation). This review focuses on catalytic control of NO, for gasoline-fueled vehicles (not diesels and alternate fuels) and primarily on developments reported since 1982. The term NO, refers to both NO and NOz. The reader is referred to an earlier publication by the author for a general review of automobile catalytic converters [1] and to a review by Egelhoff [2] on the nitric oxide literature through 1980. The recent literature on NO, reduction in lean exhaust is cited although such catalyst systems have not reached commercial application.