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Original equipment (OE) catalytic converters are designed to last the life of properly tuned and maintained vehicles. Many high mileage vehicles require a replacement converter because the original catalyst was damaged, destroyed, or removed, and the cost of a new OE converter on an older vehicle is difficult to justify. In the U.S., a federal aftermarket converter program has been in place since 1986 (California in 1988) and it has resulted in the replacement of over 50 million converters. Both Federal and California programs have required aftermarket converters to meet minimum performance and durability standards. Increasingly tighter emission standards and durability requirements for new light-duty vehicles have resulted in significant technology improvements in three-way automotive catalysts, however these advancements have not always made their way into aftermarket converters.

The 51 SAE technical papers included in this volume touch on all aspects of the significant systems engineering effort that has occurred within the broad automobile catalytic emission control technology base during the past fifteen years. Dr. Joseph Kubsh, Deputy Director of the Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association, hand-selected the publications for this volume from hundreds of technical papers published by SAE that address catalytic emission control technologies for light-duty gasoline vehicles. These papers include efforts to improve the performance, durability, and cost effectiveness of the catalytic converter systems used on gasoline stoichiometric engines and the integration of these three-way catalysts into sophisticated powertrains capable of operating at near-zero tailpipe emission levels.