Technology · Machine
Gas plant
Electrolysis and a cryogenic compressor: hydrogen and oxygen from water, and every liquid rocket propellant in dewars.
In the game
How to get it
At the grid: 4 steel plates in the corners, 2 copper coils on top, padding (wool, feathers or fur) on the sides of a cogwheel, 2 small pipes at the bottom. Place it, power it with a small cable (6 to 9 kW) and pick what it makes.
What it is for
Hydrogen and oxygen; dewars of liquid oxygen, liquid methane and liquid hydrogen for rockets; on the Moon, liquid oxygen and hydrogen from Moon ice.
Why it exists
The space industry starts here: a rocket flies on what this machine freezes.
The same text the game shows in its progress tree and on the item's sheet (I).
The gas plant is an electrolysis cell and a frosted compressor in one box. It runs on electricity only.
How to make it
At the grid: 4 steel plates in the corners, 2 copper coils top middle, 4 padding (wool, feathers or fur: 2 on each side) round a cogwheel (the compressor), 2 small pipes bottom middle.
Its five choices
| Choice | Takes | Gives | Time | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen and oxygen | 16 voxels of water | 16 units of hydrogen + 8 of oxygen | 8 s | 6 kW |
| Liquid oxygen | an empty dewar + 64 units of oxygen, or the air | a dewar of LOX | 20 s | 8 kW |
| Liquid methane | an empty dewar + 64 units of natural gas | a dewar of liquid methane | 12 s | 6 kW |
| Liquid hydrogen | an empty dewar + 64 units of hydrogen, or 32 voxels of water | a dewar of LH2 | 30 s | 9 kW |
| Moon ice | 32 voxels of Moon ice + 2 empty dewars | a dewar of LOX and a dewar of LH2 | 30 s | 9 kW |
Feeding it
- Water by the pipe on its top or a bucket; hydrogen leaves by the pipe under it; natural gas and oxygen come and go by cylinder (right-click).
- Liquid oxygen can be drawn from the air where there is air: on Earth, no oxygen needed. Not in vacuum.
- Its holders: water 4 m³, and natural gas, hydrogen and oxygen.
Why it exists
Propellants take many chemistry steps, by hand or in a factory: a rocket is a project, not a recipe. On the Moon, the same machine refuels you from the ice of the craters.
On the progress path
CH4ChemistryMain path
- BeforeCH3 · Plastic
- This stepCH4 · Gas plant
- NextCH5 · Cement
Items of this step
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