The enactment of the Clean Air Act of 1970 was a major milestone in the control of air pollution in the United States.  That legislation set federal standards to limit emissions from all automobiles starting with the 1975 model year.  In order to meet the standards, all vehicles would have to be equipped with a device called a catalytic convertor.  At that time, working prototypes had been demonstrated, however, no technology existed to mass-produce a device that could meet the performance and durability requirements of the new law.  This set off a furious technology challenge.  The potential rewards were very large as every automobile would be outfitted with the device.  However, the risks were very high also.  The time available to develop a robust technology and build manufacturing capacity was extremely short.  If the product design failed, impact on the auto industry would have been devastating.  Corning Inc. ultimately developed the winning product design of the cordierite honeycomb substrate in a wild technology competition.  Cordierite remains the material of choice for the catalytic convertor substrate today, and the invention has contributed to the prevention of the release of more than 50 billion tons of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide into our air.  In recognition of the significance of this invention, the President of the United States awarded 2003 National Medal of Technology to the inventors of this pioneering work.  This talk will review the history of the development of the catalytic convertor substrate and describe how cordierite became one the “Molecules that Changed the World”. <br/>

Race to cleaner air: How cordierite revolutionized the automotive industry

255th National Meeting (2018)

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