Atmospheric Concentrator

The Atmospheric Concentrator is a building that extracts Nitrogen from the surrounding atmosphere by consuming Heat. It converts a steady supply of Heat into a continuous stream of Nitrogen, acting as a primary mid- to late-game source of that fluid for factories, weapons, and unit-production blocks that require Nitrogen. The block is best used where a reliable Heat source can be sustained or where Nitrogen must be produced on-site to avoid long transport runs.

Mechanics and numbers: the Atmospheric Concentrator requires a Heat demand of 24. In practical terms this translates to a continuous power-equivalent heating cost of about 120 power per second (2/tick) when using Electric Heaters to meet that Heat demand. Its Nitrogen output is approximately 16 Nitrogen per second, with an output-per-cycle value reported as about 21.3333 per cycle in some source breakdowns. Because it uses Heat rather than electrical power directly, it is typically paired with Electric Heaters to provide the correct Heat ratio.

Recommended usage and strategy:

• Pair the Concentrator with Electric Heaters sized to match its Heat requirement; mismatched heating will waste power or reduce output. The Electric Heater pairing gives predictable ratios for planning.
• Be mindful of the significant continuous power draw required to generate Heat. Running multiple Atmospheric Concentrators without adequate power generation will strain your grid.
• Use Nitrogen efficiently: several Nitrogen consumers do not require constant consumption (for example, Unit Cargo Loader consumes only to spawn the Manifold, and Lustre consumes only when firing). Supplying constant heating for intermittent consumers wastes power unless excess Nitrogen is stored.
• Store excess Nitrogen in Reinforced Liquid Containers or Tanks to avoid wasting heat production during idle periods.
• For one-off uses such as spawning a drone with Unit Cargo Loader, consider deconstructing the Nitrogen supply structure after spawning to recover build costs and stop ongoing power drain. Alternatively, attach a Payload Loader and transport Nitrogen manually with the core using Reinforced Liquid Containers.

Trivia: on Erekir the Concentrator uses Heat to extract Nitrogen; real-world large-scale nitrogen separation is typically done using extreme cold processes to liquefy and separate air components, and pure Nitrogen should not be confused with chemically distinct gases such as nitrous oxide or ammonia.