Polymer Press
Polymer Press is a mid-game machine that creates plastics from a Plastic Monomer (Petroleum or Nectar).
Usage
Polymer Press intakes the Plastic Monomer through the liquid intake pipe, converting it into Steam which freely exits the machine, Carbon Dioxide which leaves through the gas output, and Plastic which is deposited outside of the machine. These plastics are used to create a multitude of different items such as the Comfy Bed.
Precautions should be taken when using this machine, as a large amount of Heat will be created, so it has to be cooled for any extended use. Produced Plastic has a minimal temperature of 75 °C and will be dumped on the floor in stacks of 30 kg, likewise the Steam that is produced at 200 °C will be dumped at the same time. CO2 is produced at 150 °C. All of them can be hotter if the input was above their minimal temperatures.
When provided Plastic Monomer, the Polymer Press can produce 300 kg/cycle of Plastic (0.5 kg/s * 600s/cycle).
Heat economy
Surprisingly, the most overheating machine can be run as net heat negative if Petroleum is fed at 80 °C or higher. At 150 °C it will destroy 18% of heat (~35 kDTU), but those gains do not look particularly worthwhile considering risks of ruining the output.
Tips
- Certain gases like Hydrogen conduct heat better, and can be used to help regulate heat, however submerging it in a thin layer of chilled Water is a good option.
- With the Frosty Planet DLC, liquid Mercury is an alternative option for a ground-layer coolant, as it has more than an order of magnitude higher thermal conductivity. Note, however, that Mercury also has only ~3% the specific heat of Water, and thus will heat up much more rapidly, so continuous active cooling is necessary to avoid boiling the coolant layer or overheating the machine.
- It is worth considering to skip raw metals and use Steel not only for the vastly increased Overheat Temperature but the higher Specific Heat Capacity and much higher Thermal Conductivity.
- Steels, however, requires you to have at least some fail-safes and automation, as otherwise it's easily possible for the building environment to exceed 160 °C, causing the output Plastic to be ruined.
- Otherwise consider either Wolframite for the highest Thermal Conductivity of all Raw Metals or Gold Amalgam for the +50 °C depending on the temperature at which the cooling solution is kept.
- If you intend to use the Polymer Press in extremely cold conditions, consider making an Insulated Liquid Pipe line to avoid getting pipe damage if the Plastic Monomer gets too cold.
- Cycle Sensors and Timer Sensors can be used to activate/deactivate the Press for a short time during each cycle in order to give it time to cool between uses.
- If you don't want to deal with the heat and energy of refining Crude Oil into Petroleum into Plastic, farming Glossy Dreckos can provide enough Plastic for mid-game use. Glossy Dreckos require more planning and setup and produce Plastic at a much slower rate than Polymer Presses, but create no heat or waste gas and consume only Dirt and dupe time.
- With the Frosty Planet DLC, Nectar produced by Bonbon trees can be used as the Plastic Monomer without the need to process Crude Oil into Petroleum.
