A car engine burns a 'fuel-air mixture', air mixed with gas. The mixture inside the cylinder has only a short time to burn, so some of it doesn't get burned, it goes out the exhaust valve and pollutes the air. A catalytic converter 'burns' the remaining fuel in the exhaust to prevent 'hydrocarbon pollution'. It does this by filtering the exhaust gasses through narrow channels plated with a surface of platinum. Platinum acts as a catalyst, breaking up hydrocarbon molecules so they can interact with oxygen.

A catalytic converter is a device that uses a catalyst to convert three harmful compounds in car exhaust into harmless compounds.

The three harmful compounds are:

?Hydrocarbons (in the form of unburned gasoline)

?Carbon monoxide (formed by the combustion of gasoline)

?Nitrogen oxides (created when the heat in the engine forces nitrogen in the air to combine with oxygen)

Carbon monoxide is a poison for any air-breathing animal. Nitrogen oxides lead to smog and acid rain, and hydrocarbons produce smog.

In a catalytic converter, the catalyst (in the form of platinum and palladium) is coated onto a ceramic honeycomb or ceramic beads that are housed in a muffler-like package attached to the exhaust pipe. The catalyst helps to convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide. It converts the hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water. It also converts the nitrogen oxides back into nitrogen and oxygen.

Converts catalytics.

Actually, it converts harmful pollutants and gasses to harmless gases and water vapor

it catalytically converts

Removes or reduces toxic gases (a byproduct of internal combustion) from the exhaust.

You didn't ask how but this is the WHAT.

It has precious metals that get really hot and helps burn any unburned fuel left over from the combustion process. Its completely for emissions purposes

It converts harmfull gases and particles into water vapor and harmless gases.

Not sure