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Causes of Molecular Change
If you have any given material or element, there are a number of things that can cause the state of its molecules to change. Consider lead, for example. At a typical ambient temperature of say, 70 degrees Fahrenheit, lead is a solid. There are many things that can change the stability of lead molecules, such as an increase in temperature. Continued heat can melt lead. Electricity can invoke molecular changes. Mechanical changes such as an impact or bending can cause molecular changes, as can exposure to flame. Each of these dynamics can break some lead molecules loose. While gas is not a natural state for lead, quantities of lead can be included in gas.
Natural States
Every substance has individual characteristics. The nature of their characteristics can be thought of under typical conditions -- a heat range or environment they would normally be exposed to. Whatever the range of common conditions, those corresponding states are the states thought of as being associated with that substance. For example, water is thought of as being all three because it is commonly found as a solid, liquid and gas. Not all substances, however, naturally lend themselves to each state of matter. Most metals, for example, are not commonly found in gaseous states. For this reason, it may not be intuitive to think of metals in gasses -- but in fact, they can be found in gasses.
Metals in Fuels
Matter doesn't get created and it doesn't disappear; it only changes form. Consider fuels that include metal. Industrial fuels, for example, can include a variety of metals -- just as auto fuel used to include lead. Whatever metals are present in fuel must be either included in the exhaust of that fuel, or converted into a different molecular arrangement. Some metals get converted or altered, but some exit an engine in the same molecular form as they entered the engine, only they're suspended in exhaust gasses instead of liquid fuel.
Trace Metals
The metals found in small quantities in a variety of fuels are called trace metals because because there is a very small amount of the metals. Trace can be present in such small quantities, they may be incidental to fuel. Whether or not they are designed to play a role in the fuel or not, when burned, most of the trace metals are transmitted by exhaust gasses into the atmosphere. While most emission cleaning devices from catalytic converters to industrial smokestack scrubbers are primarily focused on hydrocarbons, they are also intended to capture these trace metals from the gaseous exhaust before entering the environment.