Even before the Acura came into being, automobiles that were manufactured and crafted in Japan were primarily economical and were actually seen as reliable vehicles above all else. And when the Acura came into view, it was then that it started to change Japan vehicles' identity and reputation. Acura is a Japanese brand that is used by Honda in the United States, in Canada, in Mexico, and in Hong Kong since March of 1986. It was primarily used to market luxury automobiles and near luxury vehicles. Each and every part and detail of Acura vehicles are known for its strength and durability and, of course, quality. One of the most interesting parts that Acura has manufactured as part of their top-of-the-line luxury vehicles and automobiles is the Acura catalytic converter. The Acura catalytic converter is a device that is used to actually reduce the emissions from an internal combustion engine. It is commonly used in an automobile's exhaust system. Acura vehicles use this for their engines to have and provide an environment for a chemical reaction where unburned hydrocarbons are not completely combusted. Catalysts are a part of the whole system that we call the Acura catalytic converter. These catalysts are commonly platinum, or palladium and rhodium. It works quite well because no useful energy is extracted from the engine because it works with the combustion, or redox, process continues outside the engine's combustion chamber. Oxidation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen, and oxidation of hydrocarbons or unburnt fuel to carbon dioxide and water are the three simultaneous tasks that the Acura catalytic converter undertakes. It is at the stoichiometric point that these three mentioned reactions are most balance. This point is actually the mid-point between the rich and lean operation. So as to provide a good and quality performance, the Acura catalytic converter is made up of several components. The first part is the core, catalyst support, or substrate. Most often than now, this is a ceramic honeycomb, however, there are also other manufacturers who use stainless steel foil honeycombs instead of the ceramic ones. Another part of the Acura catalytic converter is the wash coat. It is a mixture of silicon and aluminum so as to make the converter more efficient. When this is actually added to the core, it forms a rough, irregular surface which has a far greater surface area than the flat core surfaces. And the last part that makes up the catalytic converter is the catalyst itself. This is often a precious metal, although platinum is the metal which is widely used for most catalytic converters. However, platinum is not quite suitable for all applications because of unwanted additional reactions and/or cost. |
