Catalytic converter substrate

[jjengel]

Hi all. I'm not sure sure which forum this question belongs in, but this one seems appropriate.

We are a small engine manufacturer with an application that uses a cataltyic converter. The catalytic converter is contained in a shell and tube heat exchanger and the whole assembly currently comes to us from Germany. We have been working on moving manufacturing back to the U.S. and have found a source for the catalytic converter substrate. The current substrate has an OD of 90mm and the overall length is 120mm with 400 cells per inch. The replacement substrate being proposed has the same 90mm OD but the overall length is 90mm which means we lose 30mm of substrate. We have a basic understanding of how catalytic converters work, but not enough to know if this is a problem. We can get a substrate that matches the original dimensions but it doubles the lead time. Now the question:

How is the lost surface area is going to affect catalysis and how (or if) it will affect emissions?

On the surface my gut tells me that less surface area equals less catalysis which increases emisisons...

If I missed any necessary information let me know and I'll update as necessary.

Thanks to all who may help.

Jason

 

[nanolab]

Corning used to manufacture the cordierite honeycomb in western New York, although I'm sure they sold that plant to someone else.
The Pt catalyst is what does the work, so if you can disperse the same amount of catalyst in the smaller package, you should see similar emissions. The particle size is also a major driver for Pt activity, so talk to the manufacturer.