X-ray Cracking

X-ray Cracking is a refinery recipe technology that changes the refinery’s output from basic oil processing into a hydrogen-recycling conversion step. When enabled, it lets refineries break down excess refined oil into energetic graphite and hydrogen, making the process useful for closed-loop fuel and material production chains rather than simple oil storage.

The main purpose of X-ray Cracking is to return surplus hydrogen to the production line so that refineries can keep operating with enough hydrogen as an input. This is especially important when setting up oil-based manufacturing lines where hydrogen is both a product and a required intermediate. In practical layouts, the recipe can be used to convert the excess output of other oil processing steps into something that can be consumed immediately by downstream production, while the hydrogen is fed back into the same chain.

A common setup uses paired rows of Conveyor Belt lines, with one side for input and one side for output. Refineries are placed on the output side and rotated as needed, then crude oil is fed in and products are pulled out. If using the hydrogen feedback loop, the hydrogen output is routed back into the input side so that X-ray Cracking can continue running without starving for its catalyst-like requirement. Storage Tank can be used as a buffer for refined oil when needed, but refined oil itself must be stored there rather than left unhandled in the line.

When combined with Reforming Refine, X-ray Cracking allows twice the amount of Energetic Graphite from Coal compared with using an Arc Smelter, while consuming only a small amount of Hydrogen and Refined Oil as a catalyst that is not used up. This makes it valuable for compact fuel production and for increasing the efficiency of coal-to-graphite conversion chains.

• It is an optional recipe.
• It saves crude oil compared with standard processing.
• It has no special advantage beyond that efficiency gain.
• Its key design goal is to keep hydrogen circulating so the refinery line does not stall.
• If refined oil backs up, move it into a Storage Tank or redesign the output routing.

Used well, X-ray Cracking is less about raw throughput and more about balancing byproducts. It is most effective in setups that can immediately consume or recirculate hydrogen, turning what would otherwise be a clog into a stable production loop.