Abstract: A process is provided for operating a three-way catalyst that contains an oxygen storage component, that has a minimum and a maximum filling degree for oxygen and that is located in the exhaust gas line of an internal combustion engine. The air/fuel mixture supplied to the engine is varied in such a way that the filling degree of the oxygen storage component in the catalyst is held within a set-point interval between the minimum and maximum filling degree. According to this process, in order to regulate the air/fuel mixture, migration of the filling degree out of the set-point interval is checked in a test phase in such a way that the filling degree is increased or lowered relative to the instantaneous value (initial value) by short-term enrichment or reduction in richness of the air/fuel mixture supplied to the engine by a certain amount and immediately returned to the initial value by a short-term opposing change in the air/fuel mixture (lean/rich pulse sequence or rich/lean pulse sequence).

Abstract: A process is provided for operating a three-way catalyst that contains an oxygen storage component, that has a minimum and a maximum filling degree for oxygen and that is located in the exhaust gas line of an internal combustion engine. The air/fuel mixture supplied to the engine is varied in such a way that the filling degree of the oxygen storage component in the catalyst is held within a set-point interval between the minimum and maximum filling degree. According to this process, in order to regulate the air/fuel mixture, migration of the filling degree out of the set-point interval is checked in a test phase in such a way that the filling degree is increased or lowered relative to the instantaneous value (initial value) by short-term enrichment or reduction in richness of the air/fuel mixture supplied to the engine by a certain amount and immediately returned to the initial value by a short-term opposing change in the air/fuel mixture (lean/rich pulse sequence or rich/lean pulse sequence).