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AT 17701 – Engine& Vehicle
Management System
SESSION 15
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Recap of session 14

 GDI operating modes

 Mixture formation

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Catalytic Emission Control

 Catalytic exhaust-gas after treatment with the aid of a three-way catalytic converter is
currently the most effective form of emission control for gasoline engines.
 The threeway catalytic converter is an integral component of the exhaust-emission control
systems of both manifold-injection engines and gasoline direct-injection engines.
 In the case of homogeneous mixture distribution with a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio (λ =
1), a three-way catalytic converter at normal operating temperature is able to convert the
following pollutants virtually completely: carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HCs)
and nitrous oxides (NOX).

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Catalytic Emission Control

 Precise lambda closed-loop control monitors the composition of the air/fuel mixture and
regulates it at a value of λ = 1.
 Although these ideal conditions cannot always be maintained in all operating states,
pollutant emissions can on average be reduced by more than 98%.
 Because the three-way catalytic converter is unable to convert the nitrous oxides in lean
mode (λ > 1), an additional NOX accumulator- type catalytic converter is used in engines
with a lean operating mode.
 Another means of reducing NOX at λ > 1 is Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR).

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Catalytic-converter concepts

 Catalytic converters can be divided into the following categories:

 Continuously operating catalysts, and
 Intermittently operating catalysts

 Continuously operating catalytic converters convert pollutants uninterrupted and without

actively intervening in the engine operating conditions. The following systems are classed as
continuously operating: the three-way catalytic converter, the oxidation catalytic converter
and the SCR catalytic converter (Selective Catalytic Reduction; currently used in diesel
engines only).

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Catalytic-converter concepts

 Intermittently operating catalytic converters operate in different phases, which are

initiated in each case by an active change in the boundary conditions by the catalytic-
converter system.
 The NOX accumulator-type catalytic converter operates intermittently: In the event of
excess oxygen in the exhaust gas, NOX is accumulated and the system is switched to rich
mode (oxygen deficiency) for the subsequent regeneration phase.

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Three-way catalytic converter -
Method of operation

 The three-way catalytic converter converts the following pollutant components into non-
toxic components during the combustion of the air/fuel mixture: hydrocarbons (HCs),
carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxides (NOX).
 The end products which result are water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen
(N2).

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End of session 15

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