CATALYTIC CONVERTERS
A brief history
The first catalytic converters were created by Eugene Houdry. During the 1950s, Houdry became fascinated by published studies of smog in Los Angeles. He then founded Oxy-Catalyst, a company whose purpose was to develop catalytic converters that would be used on car engines in order to reduce air pollution.
Although he was awarded for his innovative idea, catalytic converters would not be added to road vehicles until lead was discontinued as a fuel additive.
In 1973, Engelhard Corporation was the first company to produce catalytic converters for renowned car manufacturers.
Catalytic converters were developed to reduce toxic emissions from the internal combustion of engines. In principle, the catalyst (the substance that causes a chemical reaction) works with the catalytic converter to reduce exhaust toxicity derived from engine combustion.
Catalytic converters became widely installed in cars from 1975 onwards. That same year, the United States tightened its environmental policies regarding air pollution. As a result, today's cars and industrial machinery are still equipped with catalytic converters. Modern models are even more efficient thanks to their precious metal content.
As this environmentally-friendly initiative spread, it created a market for recycling used catalytic converters. Out of the few precious metal refiners worldwide capable of refining ceramic from catalytic converters, PMR is a leader in this segment.
