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Six-seater three-wheelers have gained popularity among the commuters especially for their point to point low fares and better frequency compared to Municipal buses. However, pressure is mounting from all the quarters to ban these vehicles or to drive them out of the municipal limits. These vehicles with maximum loading capacity of 550 kg employ diesel engines which emit high soot & particulate matter or 2-stroke petrol engines which emit carbon monoxide as high as 13 g/km and hydrocarbon as high as 8 g/km, alarmingly high above the 1996 emission norms of 6.75 g/km CO and 5.40 g/km HC. Also the noise levels were higher. Considering the above threat, the authors had taken up the challenge to investigate and curb the pollution by employing high durability metallic catalytic converters.

A three-wheeler is a symbol of mobility at low cost for a common man in India. Due to high loading compared to its 2-wheeler counterpart, the 3-wheeler emit higher emissions and serious efforts are being made by the manufacturer to minimize the emissions. ARAI and Emitec have undertaken a Technology Demonstrator Project to investigate the application of metallic substrates and Emitubes for a typical carburetted 2-stroke 3-seater 3-wheeler with an aim to introduce a cost effective practically viable option of reducing exhaust emissions to meet INDIA 2000 emission norms. Now-a-days, there are 3-wheelers available which are offering lower emissions levels. It was the intention of the authors, not to use such a clean vehicle for a better demonstration of the efficiency of current catalyst technology. Here, a 3-wheeler manufactured in 1996 has been selected, for which a converter is designed employing a software developed by Emitec.