Photo by Podknox Emission controls were first introduced in the late 1960s. Their primary purpose was to solve a particular emission need.
Back at that time, these devices were treated as “add-on” components only.
Blowby emissions used to be the main pollutant of automotive. In 1968, the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) became standard.
By recycling the crankcase vapors, the device successfully eliminated blowby emissions.
Another factor that contributed to air pollution was fuel vapors. In 1971 evaporative emission controls were added. The sealed fuel systems and charcoal canisters successfully eliminated the fuel vapors.
In 1973 exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was added. This reduced hazardous oxides of nitrogen emissions that are produced by automobiles.
However, in 1975 the government required auto makers to install the most significant add-on on all new manufactured vehicles, those add-on were catalytic converters.
The catalytic converter was a big breakthrough in emission control technology. What it basically did was reducing Carbon Monoxide (CO) and unburned Hydrocarbons (HC).
Carbon Monoxide is a very hazardous pollutant since it can be deadly to humans even when they are exposed only to small concentrations.
While Hydrocarbons (HC) is the primary factor that forms urban smog.
The catalytic converter has the ability to reduce 90% of the levels of such pollutants.
The early converters were called “two-way” converter because they reduce the two dangerous pollutants (CO and HC).
They work like an afterburner in the exhaust by reburning the pollutants.
In order to burn those pollutants effectively, an air pump or an aspirator system were used to supply extra oxygen.
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From 1975 to 1981, the two-way converters were installed on every new car. Three-way converters were introduced as the successor of two-way converters.
These converters had the ability to reduce NOX concentrations in the exhaust.
But in order to do it the converters need an addition of computerized system to control the fuel concentration.
The three-way converters worked differently from the two-way ones.
The two-way ones may operate well in a lean fuel mixture, but the catalyst inside the three-way ones require a rich fuel mixture in order to reduce NOX.
The rich fuel condition produces an additional problem because it raises CO levels in the exhaust.
In order to reduce these three pollutants (CO, HC, and NOX), a three-way converter needs a constantly changing fuel mixture that goes back and forth from rich to lean.
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To maintain the lean and rich flip flops, the engine requires an electronic fuel injection and an oxygen sensor. The electronic injection regulates the amount of fuel that’s injected.
While the oxygen sensor is required to read the fuel mixture condition in the exhaust and send it to the computer to process the information.
Three-way converters also need extra oxygen that’s supplied by an aspirator system or an air pump.
There are “three-way plus oxygen” converters that are designed to make sure air is routed right to the converter to maintain a more efficient operation.
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