How does carbon monoxide catalyst protect the blue sky? Revealing how catalytic oxidation technology purifies automobile exhaust and industrial waste gas

1. Carbon monoxide: an invisible health killer
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless highly toxic gas that mainly comes from automobile exhaust, factory coal burning and household fuel combustion. After entering the human body, it will bind to hemoglobin, causing hypoxia and even death. According to statistics, more than 40,000 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning worldwide each year. In addition, CO will also aggravate ozone and PM2.5 pollution, threatening the ecological environment.
To meet this challenge, scientists have developed a "carbon monoxide catalyst" that converts CO into harmless substances through chemical reactions, becoming a key technology for air purification.
2. Carbon monoxide catalyst: How to "detoxify"?
1. Catalytic oxidation: Turn poisonous gas into "fresh air"
The catalyst is like a "molecular scissors" that decomposes carbon monoxide through the following steps:
Adsorption: CO and oxygen (O₂) are adsorbed on the catalyst surface.
Activation: Catalysts (such as platinum and copper oxide) reduce the temperature required for the reaction, allowing CO to be oxidized at 200-300°C.
Conversion: CO combines with O₂ to generate carbon dioxide (CO₂), completely eliminating toxicity.
For example, the platinum catalyst in the three-way catalytic converter of an automobile can simultaneously process CO, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, with a purification efficiency of over 90%.
2. Two major schools of catalysts
Precious metal catalysts: Platinum, palladium and other materials are highly active but expensive and are often used in automobile exhaust treatment.
Metal oxide catalysts: Copper oxide and manganese oxide are low-cost and high-temperature resistant, suitable for industrial waste gas treatment.
Recent studies have found that the combination of copper and cerium oxide (such as CuO-CeO₂) can improve low-temperature catalytic activity, and even effectively decompose CO at minus 20°C, breaking through the limits of traditional technology.
III. Practical application: purification revolution from roads to factories
1. Automobile exhaust purification
Three-way catalytic converter: Through catalysts such as platinum and rhodium, CO and hydrocarbons in exhaust gas are converted into CO₂ and water, and nitrogen oxides are reduced to nitrogen.
Low-temperature technology breakthrough: The new CuO-CeO₂ catalyst increases the exhaust purification efficiency of cold-start vehicles (such as winter vehicles) by 50%.
2. Industrial waste gas treatment
Steel plant blast furnace gas: contains CO concentration up to 30%, which is converted into CO₂ through iron oxide-based catalysts to reduce direct emissions.
Coal combustion flue gas: manganese oxide catalysts work stably at high temperatures, with a treatment efficiency of more than 85%.
3. Home safety protection
Some household gas alarms have built-in copper oxide catalysts, which trigger alarms when CO leaks are detected to prevent poisoning accidents.
IV. Future prospects: more efficient and more inclusive green technology
Single atom catalysts: disperse precious metals into single atoms, reduce usage by 90%, and significantly reduce costs.
Anti-poisoning technology: prevent sulfides and water vapor from causing catalyst failure through surface modification, and extend service life.
Intelligent monitoring: combine the Internet of Things to analyze catalyst performance in real time and dynamically optimize the exhaust gas treatment process.
V. What can ordinary people do?
Choose clean travel: support new energy vehicles and reduce exhaust emissions from fuel vehicles.
Supervise industrial emissions: pay attention to local air quality reports and promote enterprises to adopt environmental protection technologies.
Home safety precautions: install CO alarms and check gas equipment regularly.
Conclusion
From the roads where cars are speeding to the chimneys of steel plants, carbon monoxide catalysts are protecting human health and blue skies with "molecular-level" precision management. With technological iterations and policy support, this green technology will continue to inject momentum into the goal of carbon neutrality, making clean air a daily necessity for everyone!

author: Hazel
date: 2025-05-21