Okay, I mixed up ounces and grams. Various sources say: Catalytic converters cost between $400 and $900, depending on the size of the vehicle. Average is around $500 retail replacement cost.
Catalytic converters have "1/20 of a troy ounce of" palladium. That's 1.6 g. another source says 1.9 g and someone else estimates 3 to 7 g. Let's say it is 2 or 3 g, or ~0.1 ounce. That would cost $64 which is reasonable fraction of the total cost of the converter. Assuming it is 3 g, based on my previous estimate, that's ~149 kW/g. Automobile exhaust gas is at high temperature which would have good Carnot efficiency if you could only use the stuff. As I said, I am assuming here that the reactors will be much more efficient than any prototype device today. They will be as efficient as they can be, pushing temperatures and power density up to the limits of the material. I said that the cold fusion reaction has vaporized Pd. I meant in F&P's accident. I assume it was vaporized. Maybe melted. It was gone, anyway. - Jed
