Hydrocarbon Processing - June 2022 - 54

History of the HPI
Control Act of 1955. Although the law did
not tackle air pollution directly, it provided
funding for research relating to air pollution
control.141
Eight years later, the U.S.
EPA passed the Clean Air Act of 1963,
which enabled the U.S. government to take
direct action to control air pollution.141
In
1965, an amendment to the Clean Air Act
of 1963-the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution
Control Act-created the first federal set
of standards for vehicle emissions.142
The Clean Air Amendments of 1970
significantly strengthened federal authority
to regulate emissions from both industrial
and mobile sources (FIG. 1). This
amendment included the following major
components141
:
* It established the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
for pollutants in outdoor air that
can be harmful to the public or
the environment-i.e., carbon
monoxide, lead, particulate matter,
ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur
dioxide.143
* It established New Source
Performance Standards to determine
how much air pollution should be
allowed by different industries.
* It established the National Emission
Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants to cover all air pollutants
not covered by the NAAQS.
* It called for aggressive air pollution
reduction goals-some as high as
90%-for the mobility sector.
The significance of the Clean Air Act
of 1970 was that it gave the U.S. EPA enforcement
authority over domestic emissions
levels, as well as required U.S. states
to issue plans (State Implementation
Plans) on adhering to national air pollution
standards. This model is still in use
today. The Clean Air Act had several additional
amendments added to it over the
next 30 yr, including major additions during
the 1990s to address acid rain, ozone
depletion and toxic air pollution, as well
as establishing Reid vapor pressure standards
and new regulations on fuels sold
during the months of May-September
(i.e., summer-grade fuel).141
Although the Clean Air Act was intended
to reduce air pollution, especially
from the automobile industry, challenges
existed on how to mitigate pollutants from
an automobile's tailpipe. A solution was
put forth in the mid-1950s but did not
fully materialize for the auto industry until
the mid-1970s. This technology can still
be found on nearly every vehicle in use today:
the catalytic converter.
The catalytic converter. Although
prototypes of catalytic converters were
introduced in France in the late 1800s, the
modern catalytic converter was first patented
in the mid-1950s by a well-known
pioneer in the refining industry, Eugene
Houdry. Houdry's pioneering work in the
creation of catalytic cracking was detailed
in the History of the HPI segment in the
February issue of Hydrocarbon Processing.
Houdry began research and development
on this technology after studies were
released that showed alarming increases
in smog in the Los Angeles, California
(U.S.) area. These Los Angeles area smog
studies in the early 1950s also played a
part in similar studies in Western Europe.
Around 1956, both French and German
scientists were engaged in research to
mitigate smog in several major cities in
France and Germany.144
These scientists
noticed that several of their respective
urban areas suffered from dense air pollution
similar to that referenced in the
Los Angeles smog reports. Both teams'
research into mitigating vehicle emissions
eventually led to the implementation of
Directive 70/220/EEC in 1970.145
This
ground-breaking piece of legislation was
the impetus to setting emissions standards
for light- and heavy-duty vehicles
in Europe. The directive eventually led to
the introduction of the Euro 1 standard in
1992 (implemented for passenger cars in
1993), the removal of leaded petrol from
filling stations in Europe and the adoption
of three-way catalytic converters.144,
146,147
would become a global stanEuropean
emissions standards (i.e.,
Euro 1-6 and Euro I-IV; Euro 7/VII are
expected to be implemented in the mid2020s)145,148
dard
for many countries around the world
over the next few decades in efforts to adhere
to clean fuels regulations.
In the U.S., Houdry was concerned
that emissions from smokestacks and automobile
exhaust were leading to significant
air pollution.149
To reduce emissions
from these sources, Houdry created the
company Oxy-Catalyst to develop catalytic
converters. His first designs were aimed
at mitigating emissions from smokestacks.
This effort was followed by the development
of catalytic converters for low-grade
gasoline-powered forklifts used in warehouses.150
In
the mid-1950s, Houdry fixed
his sights on developing catalytic converters
for automobile engines. His technology
was patented under the title Catalytic
Apparatus to Render Non-Poisonous Exhaust
Gases from Internal Combustion
Engines on April 17, 1956 (FIG. 2).151
However, the widespread adoption of
FIG. 1. U.S. President Richard Nixon signs the Clean Air Act of 1970, which called for a
significant reduction in air pollutants from industrial and mobility sectors. Photo courtesy
of the U.S. National Archives.
54 JUNE 2022 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
catalytic converters by the automobile industry
did not take effect until the passing
of the U.S. Clean Air Act and subsequent
amendments. These laws dictated strict
regulations on vehicle emissions, as well as
the continued removal of lead from gaso

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