An aftertreatment device used for pollutant removal from automotive exhaust. Since the 1975 model year, increasingly stringent government regulations for the allowable emission levels of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) have resulted in the use of catalytic converters on most passenger vehicles sold in the United States. The task of the catalytic converter is to promote chemical reactions for the conversion of these pollutants to carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen.