Chemical plant

The chemical plant is an intermediate crafting building used to process fluids and fluid-containing recipes. It is the primary facility for producing chemicals such as sulfuric acid, plastic, batteries, explosives, lubricants and various solid fuels in the base game, and it also supports a number of Space Age expansion recipes. Many recipes require the chemical plant to be set to the desired recipe before processing begins.

The chemical plant accepts fluid ingredients only at two fixed fluid inputs; unlike solid ingredients, which can be inserted anywhere, fluids must be fed into those inputs. Recipes that require two fluid ingredients will accept each ingredient on a specific input and the chemical plant displays icons on the inputs to indicate which ingredient belongs on which side. The plant allows the two fluid inputs to be flipped if a player needs to swap which input is used for which fluid. Several Space Age recipes are craftable in the chemical plant, but some of those new recipes must be crafted on specific planets or can alternatively be made in the cryogenic plant.

In the base game the chemical plant has twelve available recipes (one recipe must be selected for it to begin processing). Base-game recipes include sulfuric acid, sulfur, plastic bar, battery, explosives, flamethrower ammo, lubricant, various solid fuels (from light, petroleum gas, or heavy oil), and oil cracking recipes that convert heavy oil or light oil into lighter products. The Space Age Expansion adds 15 new recipes; several of these are not exclusive to the chemical plant and can instead be crafted in other buildings such as the cryogenic plant. Some Space Age recipes are locked to particular planets because they require liquids exclusive to those planets and these liquids cannot be shipped off-planet.

• The chemical plant requires an explicit recipe selection before it processes ingredients.
• Fluids have two fixed inputs; two-fluid recipes require specific input placement and the plant shows icons to guide placement.
• The two fluid inputs can be flipped to swap which input accepts which fluid.
• The chemical plant handles a wide set of base-game chemical recipes (sulfuric acid, plastic, batteries, explosives, lubricants, solid fuels, oil cracking).
• The Space Age Expansion adds 15 recipes usable in the chemical plant; some must be crafted on specific planets or can alternatively be produced in the cryogenic plant.
• Planet-specific recipes (for example those on Aquilo) may be selectable off-planet but are effectively locked if they require liquids that cannot be shipped off-planet.