A catalytic converter apparatus for use in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine includes a housing having a gas inlet and a gas outlet, and at least one catalytic substrate element disposed in the housing. The at least one substrate element is divided into a plurality of zones or sections, the zones at least partially separated from one another to inhibit heat flow. The zones can be at least partially separated with walls. The walls can include insulating material for reducing the mobility of heat radially outwardly. Each of the zones defines a generally separate flow passage connecting the inlet and outlet in fluid communication. The apparatus can heat more rapidly from a cold start compared with conventional catalytic converters.

In a method of reducing pollutants of a combustion engine, exhaust gas, generated by a cylinder of the combustion engine, is fed to an exhaust gas aftertreatment system as a function of a predefined condition solely via a first exhaust channel which communicates with a first one of first and second exhaust valves of the cylinder. The first exhaust channel is hereby coated, at least in part, by a thermally insulating layer selected such that a heat input is transmitted to the exhaust gas aftertreatment system which heat input is greater than a heat input in a second exhaust channel communicating with a second one of the first and second exhaust valves. The predefined condition is defined as a function of a coolant temperature of the combustion engine.

A novel pipe cover is disclosed that can suppress thermal deterioration in a member that is positioned opposite to the pipe, and can control the temperature inside the pipe within a given range, even when a high-temperature fluid circulates through the pipe. The pipe cover is used to cover the outer periphery of a pipe, and includes a base that is formed of a tubular heat insulator, and a surface member that covers the outer surface of the base, a heat radiation section and a heat radiation-suppressing section being provided on the outer surface of the surface member, and the emissivity of the heat radiation section at a wavelength of 2 to 15 m being higher than the emissivity of the heat radiation-suppressing section at a wavelength of 2 to 15 m.