Car Exhausts - Their Basic Composition
What's cooler than seeing a plume of smoke exit the tail pipe and a car swerve dangerously close to oblivion? If we ignore environmentalists from the modern-day green planet movement, we can rejoice in a testosterone fueled ride down hell's highway.
Car Exhaust systems, while varying from car model to car model, dissipate the fumes from the combustion of certain fuels; it is essential to note that these gases are dangerous to the health of humans and the environment. Below is the basic assembly for car exhausts:
Air Pump - Air pumps help control emissions by forcing air into the exhaust manifold and increasing the amount of exhaust gases to be burned. The air pump is powered by a belt, which is attached to the engine, and requires periodic checks if you want to avoid emission troubles or worse case scenario, an engine check light. The pump takes the oxygen thick air and sends it on its merry way. As a result, lethal gases are cleaned up - carbon monoxide becomes carbon dioxide.
Exhaust manifold - An exhaust manifold is attached to the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. More cylinders mean more fuel combustion, which means better car performance. Its job is to steer exhaust gases from engine cylinders through a pipe and to the exhaust system. Check your exhaust manifold for leaks because a leak in the manifold means poisonous fumes like carbon monoxide and other smog-inducing gases are leaking through.
Catalytic Converters - A catalytic converter is what makes emissions that much less harmful to people and the environment. As the heart of an exhaust system, it connects the exhaust manifold to the muffler. It's a contained area that encourages a chemical change; in fact, its where carbon monoxide (CO) becomes carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrocarbons (HC) become carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20). In a three-way converter, nitrogen oxides (NOx) become nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O).
Muffler - The muffler controls the noise of an exhaust system. The muffler converts the jumbled sounds of gas rushing through the exhaust system and working valves into a less prominent noise. The engine exhaust is blown out of the muffler, through the tail pipe, and into the atmosphere.
Tail pipe - The tail pipe is that piece of metal jutting out from the back of a vehicle that releases exhaust gas.
All in all, a car exhausts system is hard at work making poisonous gases less lethal to humans and the environment.
