Many of the parts on your pre-owned certified Toyota are pretty simple to understand. Brakes, wheels, and even the steering wheel are common enough that most people have a basic understanding of what they are as well as a few ideas about how they work. One less common part of a certified Toyota that many people don’t understand, however, is the catalytic converter. So, just what is it, and what does it do?

Most vehicles on the Missouri roads produce a hefty amount of pollution. The engines burn fuel, after all, and the exhaust from the combustion can be pretty heavy. In order to help reduce the levels of pollution being produced by vehicles on the road, the catalytic converter was invented. First used in 1975, what it does is genius. It takes the emissions coming from the engine and converts them into less harmful exhaust. Now, it’s still not the cleanest gas coming out, but it makes a huge difference in air quality.

Most vehicle engines produce carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor. In small quantities, these gases are mostly harmless and aren’t particularly dangerous. There are other chemicals, however, that your certified Toyota produces that aren’t as benign. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrous oxides are some of the other side products of combustion that your engine produces, and they can be harmful to your health and the environment.

The catalytic converter in your certified Toyota uses the properties of chemistry in order to actually change the emissions coming out of the engine. The catalytic converter contains catalysts, which can change the molecular structure of the gases being released. Molecules are removed, making the exhaust far less dangerous due to their new composition.

We have a long way to go before we have truly exhaust-free vehicle on the road, but technology is helping us get there. The catalytic converter is an earlier design, but even now it is science like this that is making a huge difference in air quality throughout Missouri.