Catalyst Q&A Series – Part 4: Applications of Catalysts in Major Industries (1)
2025.11.21
In Part 3, we examined why different industries require different catalysts and how process-specific conditions influence catalyst selection. Parts 4 and 5 introduce real-world industrial applications, focusing on how catalysts function across major sectors.
In this episode, we look at the automotive and semiconductor industries—exploring how environmental regulations and process characteristics shape the catalyst technologies used in each field.
1. What catalyst technologies address tightening automotive emission regulations?
Emission regulations in the automotive industry continue to strengthen worldwide. Europe’s Euro 1–7 standards, the U.S. EPA Tier regulations, and CARB (California Air Resources Board) requirements—as well as regulations in Korea, Japan, and other major countries—steadily lowering the allowable limits for harmful pollutants such as hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
To meet these stricter standards, the catalytic converter was developed as the core device for exhaust gas aftertreatment. This allows vehicles to comply with environmental regulations without compromising engine performance.
2. What is a catalytic converter?
A catalytic converter is installed in the exhaust line and converts harmful gases into harmless substances through catalytic reactions. CO, HC, and NOx emitted from the engine are converted into carbon dioxide (CO₂), water (H₂O), and nitrogen (N₂).
Precious-metal catalysts such as platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh) promote oxidation and reduction reactions on the catalyst surface, which determine the overall purification efficiency.
3. What catalysts are used in gasoline and diesel engines?
Gasoline engines use technologies such as Three-Way Catalysts (TWC), Gasoline Particulate Filters (GPF), and low-temperature TWCs (TWC-NT).
Diesel engines, on the other hand, employ a combination of Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOC), Lean NOx Traps (LNT), Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF), and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalysts.
Each system is precisely controlled based on exhaust composition, temperature, and air–fuel ratios (λ) to balance emission reduction with fuel efficiency.
4. Why do gasoline and diesel engines require different catalysts?
This is because their combustion characteristics differ fundamentally.
- Gasoline engines operate near the stoichiometric air–fuel ratio (λ = 1) and therefore generate oxygen-deficient exhaust, which makes a reduction-focused aftertreatment system essential.
- Diesel engines burn with excess oxygen, requiring oxidation-centered systems designed to handle lean conditions.
As a result, catalyst formulations and system architectures must be tailored to each engine type.
5. What catalysts are needed for hybrid vehicles and next-generation fuels?
Hybrid vehicles frequently switch between electric motor and engine operation, often resulting in exhaust temperatures that often remain too low. These low-temperature conditions require catalysts that can activate quickly even when the exhaust is relatively cold.
Heesung Catalysts leverages decades of development and mass-production expertise in automotive catalysts to deliver next-generation low-temperature activation catalysts with strong durability under hybrid driving conditions. We are also developing advanced catalyst technologies for decarbonized internal combustion engines, including synthetic e-Fuels and hydrogen combustion engines—supporting compliance with Euro 7 and future fuel transitions.
6. What role do catalysts play in the semiconductor industry?
Semiconductor processes such as plasma etching and chamber cleaning emit greenhouse gases with extremely high global warming potential (GWP), including:
- Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)
- Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
- Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆)
- Nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃)
These gases can have warming effects thousands of times greater than CO₂, making their reduction critical for carbon-neutral manufacturing and regulatory compliance. To reduce these emissions, catalysts such as PFC decomposition catalysts and N₂O decomposition catalysts are applied. They convert process gases into harmless components, effectively lowering greenhouse gas emissions at the source.
7. What technologies are applied to semiconductor catalysts?
Semiconductor catalysts must remain stable under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions while preventing incomplete decomposition or unintended secondary emissions.
Heesung Catalysts enhances catalyst performance by engineering support microstructures, improving thermal resistance, and applying advanced metal-composition technologies that maintain high activity and durability under harsh process conditions.
8. How is catalyst design customized for different semiconductor processes?
Heesung Catalysts collaborates with semiconductor equipment manufacturers to reflect actual operating conditions—reactor design, gas composition, and temperature profiles—into catalyst modeling.
Using real-world demonstration data, we support process optimization and also provide solutions that simultaneously remove VOCs and CO. These approaches enhance equipment efficiency while reducing greenhouse gases and pollutants.
9. Can greenhouse gas reduction catalysts be applied to other industries?
Different industrial processes require different catalysts depending on the type and behavior of the greenhouse gases they emit. Catalysts designed to reduce PFCs, N₂O, and SF₆ from semiconductor processes are applicable only to semiconductor manufacturing and similar operations.
In contrast, industries such as CNG/LNG engine aftertreatment, methane co-fired power generation, and landfill gas treatment use catalysts specifically designed for the greenhouse gases characteristic of each sector.
In Q&A Part 5, we will explore how catalysts are applied across the refining, chemical, power, and energy industries based on their operating conditions and emission profiles.
