Role of Vehicular Catalytic Converter Temperature in Emission of Pollutants: An Assessment Based on Isotopic Analysis of CO and NO.

Vehicular catalytic converters are used to regulate, reduce, and convert toxic and environmentally unfriendly compounds in exhaust gases into relatively inert and less harmful chemical species. The efficiency, however, is largely affected by the operating temperature of the converter which is set by the hot exhaust gas released from the combustion chamber. A major gas released during combustion is CO, and its multiply substituted isotopocule, namely, COO, provides a window of opportunity to probe directly the effective temperature of the converter in operation.