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While thinking around oil processing I was trying to find a usage for Light oil apart from being just an intermediate product.

Current recipes for Plastic and Sulfur require Coal as a component. Reading on the real world refining process I found that both processes require high temperature heating other from namely coal.

So it makes sense to make chemical plants require just any type of fuel for the process just like furnaces do. This will open up opportunity to use Light oil to make solid fuel for the sake of refining process. Interestingly enough in the real process of plastic production petroleum gas is used as both fuel for heating and as a material for plastic extraction. So the idea really makes sense. And it would really help to set oil refinery free from needs to supply it with namely Coal.

If paired with the idea of water pumps producing solid fuel in refinery area makes even more sense so Light oil finds its spot.

I am not sure about requirement for fuel in all of Chemical plant recipes and I'm not sure if this can be implemented with the current state of the game (I mean fuel being an option) but it really makes much sense.

What really does not fit all the idea is Batteries. IMO those should definitely be produced by assemblers and not Chemical plants. Maybe those were intruduced before assemblers got the tube connection and thus remain in a weird spot...

I never thought about why plastic requires coal. Now that you mention using fuel to heat up chemical plants, that could’ve been it.

Looking at real-life processes that doesn’t make too much sense though. Polymerization in plastic making, especially for ethylene, is exothermic so external heating isn’t necessary. If anything should be taking external fuel it should be heavy and light oil cracking and - like you said - the refining process itself.

Freeing up the coal requirement with solid fuel would be really convenient, especially when it is rendered useless by solar panels and electric furnaces.. But maybe the devs put that in to have us drag coal lines everywhere.

Also making batteries in an assembler will require a lot of changes even if that makes more sense. Sulphuric acid will need to be piped in to a level 3 assembler, which takes blue science to research; making it necessary to change its recipe or the techtree.

bo6 wrote:I never thought about why plastic requires coal. Now that you mention using fuel to heat up chemical plants, that could’ve been it.

Looking at real-life processes that doesn’t make too much sense though. Polymerization in plastic making, especially for ethylene, is exothermic so external heating isn’t necessary. If anything should be taking external fuel it should be heavy and light oil cracking and - like you said - the refining process itself.

Giving info on real life processes I am just trying to make sure that solution will not be criticized from this point. There is no intention to make Factorio 100% copy rl world.

bo6 wrote:Freeing up the coal requirement with solid fuel would be really convenient, especially when it is rendered useless by solar panels and electric furnaces.. But maybe the devs put that in to have us drag coal lines everywhere.

That is the point. Also I am trying to address Light oil being totally useless most of time.

bo6 wrote:Also making batteries in an assembler will require a lot of changes even if that makes more sense. Sulphuric acid will need to be piped in to a level 3 assembler, which takes blue science to research; making it necessary to change its recipe or the techtree.

Thats not true. Level 2 assembler is also capable of connecting pipes so no issue here.
There is already a small mod allowing it to happen

In my opinion that Coal is used to make Plastic is weird anyways.


If at all Coal should only be an optional alternative way to make Oil... in Coal liquefaction if you run short on Crude Oil for example.

That way you can dump Coal into the Oil Industry if you like to, but before actually producing any intermediate products. That way all following intermediate products can also profit from the Coal you are willing to expend.

The Bergius process mod (viewtopic.php?f=93&t=14699) should really be incorporated into vanilla... and the plastic recipe changed.