Nippon Steel Minerals Develops Low Cost Catalyst for Auto Gases

Nippon Steel Materials, a subsidiary of Nippon Steel Corporation, announced on Tuesday the firm developed a new catalyst for emission gas purification which can reduce precious metal consumption by 70% in cooperation with Nippon Steel’s Advanced Technology Lab. Current catalyst for gasoline engines is aluminium oxide on which fine particles of platinum, palladium and rhodium are spread. Nippon Steel Materials developed nanometer-composite crystalline structure of iron oxide with alkali earth metals instead of aluminium oxide.Precious metal consumption can be reduced by 70% with the nano-composite crystalline structure. The cost for precious metals will decrease by 50% or 97% at maximum. Nippon Steel Minerals already started to provide samples of the new catalyst. The firm seeks the adoption for motorcycles and automobiles including diesel motors.