Originally Posted by
zito
Thanks for all this information! A question I have is on the document that lists the PM content of converters. Are those values expressed in ounces? That's what I'm guessing it is, but would like to confirm. Also, I believe that's a European document, either with some American cats added, or perhaps those are American cats also used in European models. In any case, is there a difference between EPA and European emission standards, and if there is a difference, do you know how it would affect the converters and values shown? Thanks again.
Good questions.
It is a European document, I am looking for the American counterpart, I have it somewhere I just need to locate it. The numbers are relative to new cats, how much they contain when they are installed, new. This will not account for cats that have been "blown out" or any other material that has been lost while in use. Also keep in mind that usually only about 70% of the total PGMs are extracted. This is due to the fact that the precious metals are coated onto alumina silicates that have a honeycomb structure themselves. This makes it difficult to remove unless very dangerous methods are used. The big refiners, like BASF and Johnston Matthey, use what is called submersible arc furnaces to break the alumina silicates so that they can extract more, but even they are not getting the total amount. This document is only to express potential values, not to base what you sell your cats for, in other words it can be used as a guide, but these values will not exist in a used cat, and not all of the values are recoverable.
The values are expressed thus,
The red brackets are in cm, this is to easily identify the cat
The larger number in grams, like in picture one for example, 230g is the weight of the honeycomb, virgin
The metals are expressed in ounces, you are correct.
***** Updated the original post above with a link to another document I had on American Catalytic Converters *****
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