Petroleum Generator uses Petroleum or Ethanol to produce electricity, carbon dioxide and polluted water in the vicinity. The products take the temperature of the generator. The numbers below are made without the use of Engie's Tune-Up.
Polluted Water is produced at stable 40 °C. Carbon Dioxide is produced at 110 °C, and can be hotter if input was above 110 °C.
Efficiency
Petroleum
Comparison with Natural Gas Generator, which uses the same fuel source, and has the same by-products:
| Natural Gas Generator | NGG, Power matched (x2.5) | Petrol Generator | PG/NGGm ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum (g/s) | 90 | 225 | 1340 | 5.9(5) |
| Power (W) | 800 | 2000 | 2000 | 1 |
| Polluted Water | 22.5 | 56.25 | 750 | 13.(3) |
| Carbon Dioxide | 67.5 | 168.75 | 500 | 2.(962) |
| Heat (kDTU/s) | 10 | 25 | 20 | 0.8 |
- Note, that fuel consumption should be scaled to account for the loss of mass from Sour Gas to Methane transition, thus (2000 * 0.67 = 1340)
- Heat does not take into account temperatures and rates of outputted products.
When compared to a Natural Gas Generator, that was scaled up for equivalent output, The Petroleum Generator uses six times more fuel and produces far more byproducts, including heat-bearing.
This does not mean that Petroleum Generator is a bad option. Since this comparison assumes no loss of energy from petroleum heating, cooling and re-heating again. Meanwhile, Petroleum Generator can burn cold petroleum and produce energy right now, which is a big convenience. Still, it is a good nudge to start sinking any excess heat energy into Crude and Petroleum.
Besides that, Petroleum Generator's ability to produce germ free polluted water is not bad. The Pincha Pepper plant requires 35 kg/cycle which is roughly 58 g/s so one Petroleum Generator can supply 12 plants.
The carbon dioxide can be traditionally fed to slicksters to regain some fuel, but it is far from sustainable (see Tips).
Ethanol
Comparison with Wood Burner, which uses the same fuel source, and has similar by-products:
| Wood Burner |
WB, Power matched (x3.5) |
Petrol Generator + 4 Ethanol Distillers |
PG/WBm ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumber (kg) | 1.2 | 4.16 | 4 | ~0.96 |
| Power (W) | 300 | 1050 | 1040 | 1.00 |
| Carbon Dioxide (g/s) | 170 | 595 | 1166.68 | ~1.96 |
| Heat (kDTU/s) | 9 | 31.5 | 38 | ~1.2 |
| Polluted Water | 0 | 0 | 750 | N/A |
| Polluted Dirt (g/s) | 0 | 0 | 1333.3 | N/A |
- 4 Ethanol Distillers needed to run 1 PG are included.
The fuel-efficiency is comparable, although Petroleum Generator still generates more heat and by-products (which might be desirable). 4 Ethanol Distillers per Generator also take a lot of space, which is a main drawback of this setup and it keeps increasing with deeper processing steps.
Sustainability notes:
- 1 Petrol Generator requires 18 domesticated, boosted Arbor Trees to run constantly.
- 1 Petrol Generator produces 450 kg of polluted water, which is enough to feed ~6.42 domesticated Arbor Trees.
- 4 Ethanol Distillers provide almost 800kg of dirt per cycle, enough to feed 80 domesticated Arbor Trees.
- It will keep 13.(3) Compost piles occupied.
Thus, the setup requires even more wild Arbor Trees or input of around 2.1 ton of polluted water per cycle.
Tips
Slicksters convert Carbon Dioxide to either Crude Oil or Petroleum at a rate of 2:1 depending on the variety.
If you use the Slickster then the 500 g/s of CO2 will be converted into 250 g/s of crude oil. Using an Oil Refinery will consume 5 kg/s of crude Oil, and produce 2.5 kg/s of petroleum and 90 g/s of Natural Gas. This means that for every second that you run the Petroleum Generator you will get enough by-products to produce another 40 W from the Natural Gas Generator and 125 W from the Petroleum Generator for a total of 165 W, a 8.25% return.
If you use the Molten Slickster then the carbon dioxide will be converted 2:1 into petroleum that can be fed right back into the generator. Again, every second 500 g of CO2 becomes 250 g of petroleum that can produce 250 W of power, a 12.5% return without the hassle of the 480 W of power consumed by, and 50 W of heat produced the refinery, the air pump to move the natural gas and then having a second power plant for your Electrical Engineer to which to apply Engie's Tune-Up.
Version History
- LU-356355: Petroleum Generator no longer requires Plastic to build.