Guide: Nuclear Age
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Before trying to handle radioactive materials, please read up on Material Safety for your own safety and information.
Now you can finally start with the nuclear stuff. Be prepared as this is one of the longest parts of progression.
Chicago Pile 
Main Page: Chicago Pile
The Chicago pile is an early breeding reactor whose main purpose is that of transmuting 
uranium into 
plutonium.
In order to make a Chicago pile, you will need drilled blocks of 
graphite, which can be made by placing a block of graphite and then right clicking it with a hand drill; once all the blocks are drilled, you can then place your fuel rods into the the graphite blocks. When a fuel rod is placed into a block, you can use a screwdriver to take it out or a hand drill to determine statistics such as heat, flux and depletion.
The first fuel rods you are likely to use are the 
Ra226Be neutron source and the 
uranium rods, to make them you must craft them with the following recipes:
| Ra226Be | Uranium |
|---|---|
   |
 |
Ra226Be is a neutron source and thus outputs a constant flux of neutrons in every direction as rays, once a ray hits an uranium fuel rod, it will output rays of its own in every direction (the efficiency of which is maximum at 1.5 blocks away from the source). The uranium fuel rods also have a heat value that should be no higher than 1000; as upon hitting 1000, the rod block will meltdown releasing radiation and creating a fire which burns the other graphite blocks around it; a common cause of such meltdowns is by naively putting another layer directly on top of the bottom layer, at that point the neutrons have nowhere to escape and will begin heating up the uranium rods.
From there you can either wait until the depletion value of an uranium fuel rod reaches 50000 (or 75000 in 528 mode), at which point it will transmute into a plutonium fuel rod; or you can wait until it's just below that value, at which point it turns into a bred uranium fuel rod. You should then process them in a PUREX to obtain billets of plutonium; it should also be pointed out that plutonium rods can also be used as stronger neutron sources for your Chicago pile.
| Bred Uranium Rod | Plutonium Rod |
|---|---|
    |
|
Another use of the Chicago pile involves transmuting 
lithium cells into 
tritium cells, to do so you must get a lithium cell to 30000 depletion (or 50000 in 528 mode) and then you must take it out of the block.
Uranium Enrichment 
Related Pages: Uranium Hexafluoride, Gas Centrifuge
Enriching uranium involves several steps in order to convert raw uranium ore into usable isotopes like 
uranium-235 and uranium-238. In order to enrich uranium from the ore you must first obtain 
yellowcake, which is pure uranium oxide; yellowcake can be made in a chemical plant with uranium billets, 
sulfur, and hydrogen peroxide as shown in the recipe below.
 500mB    |
The next step to enriching uranium is making uranium hexafluoride, which will be essential for extracting pure uranium isotopes. To make it you must combine your yellowcake with 
water and 
fluorite in a chemical plant, this will also give you your sulfur back which you can reuse to produce more uranium hexafluoride.
 1,000mB 1,200mB |
Now we must use a 
gas centrifuge, or rather, 4 of them. To start we must place 4 gas centrifuges in a row (consult the image above), you should notice that there is a kind of output on one of the sides, this is where the centrifuges connect with each other; you should also remember to craft a gas centrifuge overclocking upgrade and place it on the last centrifuge, otherwise it won't work; we should then connect our chemical plant with the first centrifuge in line and from there the 4 centrifuges will process the hexafluoride.
See the gas centrifuge page for the outputs from each centrifuge.
With uranium enrichment done, we can now properly use that uranium to make fuel for the ZIRNOX reactor.
ZIRNOX 
Main Page: ZIRNOX
Nuclear reactors are machines designed for large-scale energy production that are based on nuclear reactions, generally fission. Unlike regular power-generating machines, reactors do not necessarily produce electricity directly, though some can. Nuclear reactors are used for making energy, depleting fuel or doing other kinds of work. These usually use a cooling loop where electricity is generated by steam, though some don't.
We talked about the ZIRNOX nuclear reactor in the pre-nuclear guide. Now it is time to talk about how to operate it.
Its operation is described in more detail in its main page.
There are some components to its operation that may catch players off guard for the first time:
- The ZIRNOX outputs
super dense steam, not normal 
steam. As such, the first fluid pipe that connects to the reactor should be set to super dense steam and the turbine it leads to should be set to super dense steam as well. The next pipe and turbine should then be set to dense steam as running a dense type of steam through a turbine will lower it down a level of compression.
(Ultra Dense Steam -> Super Dense Steam -> Dense Steam -> Steam -> Low Pressure Steam).
The reactor starts emitting radiation if super dense steam gets stuck in it, so be careful and don't mess up!
- If the reactor's temperature gauge is not at minimum 100°C, then no steam will be produced. The reactor's temperature can be increased by venting
CO2 and therefore allowing the reactor's core to run hotter, but the reactor will not function below 4000 mB of CO2.
- Even though more powerful fuel rods meaning more heat meaning more power, the ZIRNOX setup might not be enough for powerful fuel rods. So be balanced and don't use high power fuel rods or else boom!
- It is recommended not to rely on the ZIRNOX reactor for power over long periods of time due to it having greatly lower than average fuel efficiency compared to other kinds of reactors, so it is recommended to use it to provide power only as long as it takes to set up a slightly stronger reactor.
Fission Products
Fission waste products can be extracted from the depleted fuel from these reactors through isotope seperation by a 
SILEX or by processing it with a 
PUREX.
The depleted fuels are extremely useful as they are used to make alloys used in a LOT of crafting recipes. 
Technetium steel for example, which is required for progression.
Some of the waste products can be extremely radioactive, so it is recommended to use radiation resistant armor when dealing with them.
Technetium Steel
Main pages: Technetium, Technetium Steel
Once the ZIRNOX nuclear reactor or a PWR is complete, you can get highly technetium-99 through depleted fuels from those reactors which will be used for various work and crafting, most notably technetium steel plates.
To produce technetium steel, you need to combine 
steel with a single nugget of 
technetium-99 in a 
blast furnace of any kind or through the 
crucible.
1 Ingot 1 Nugget    1 Ingot
|
This will yield one ingot of technetium steel. Technetium-99 is a common waste product from the fission of uranium and plutonium. It has a relatively high half-life for a fission product, so its radioactivity is only mild. Technetium-99 can also be extracted from MOX fuel via a ZIRNOX or research reactor.
To get the depleted fuel you just have to put the spent ZIRNOX fuel rod in a crafting table to get the depleted fuel, which then has to be put in a 
spent fuel pool drum to cool it. The spent fuel drum needs to be underwater for it to work.
Ferrouranium 
Main page: Ferrouranium
Ferrouranium is a carbon steel-uranium (238) alloy (hence the name) known for its high hardness and durability. It is also radiation resistant due to its uranium content.
It can be used to make the 
tier 4 anvil, which is required for making the 
HEV Mark IV power armor. It is used in many numerous other things like making the 
research reactor, 
breeding reactor, 
ducrete and the 
cooling tower.
It is produced in a crucible with one nugget of uranium-238 and 2 nuggets of steel giving you 3 nuggets of ferrouranium.
2 Nuggets 1 Nugget 3 Nuggets
|
Research & Breeding Reactor 
Main Pages: Research Reactor, Breeding Reactor
The research reactor is a non-power reactor intended for burning fuel efficiently and acting as a neutron source for breeding reactors. It has to be submerged in water to cool since it does not have the active cooling of a typical power reactor. A 
Ra226Be neutron source or 
Pu238Be neutron source plate is needed to begin the reaction, and then can be removed. It explodes at exactly 1,000°C, so be careful when using strong fuels and several breeders simultaneously. You can observe the temperature as well as outgoing flux with the seven-segment displays in the GUI. It emits Cherenkov radiation when operating as well as gas bubbles of oxyhydrogen formed from the decomposition of water due to the neutron flux.
The breeding reactor is mostly used to breed nuclear fuels.
     300600900   |
The research reactor and breeding reactor are both assembled using the following recipes:
| Research Reactor | Breeding Reactor |
|---|---|
    |
|
Where the breeding reactor core is assembled as such:
 |
RBMK 
Main Page: RBMK
There is an in-game book titled "My first RBMK: Basics of building a reactor" that provides a detailed explanation of RBMK reactors. Be sure to check it out for in-depth information.
The RBMK is one of the largest and most complex reactors in this mod, requiring careful operation. A more detailed guide is available on its dedicated page. For now, only a small-scale RBMK is needed, as it will primarily be used for power generation and material irradiation.
The RBMK irradiation channel handles material irradiation. While it is not required for the reactor to function, it acts as an optional upgrade. This component stores materials and exposes them to high radiation levels, transforming them into new forms. It has many applications, but it is particularly useful for producing thorium fuel. When consistently supplied with thorium billets, a thorium-fueled RBMK can become self-sustaining.
Small & Simple RBMK Reactor
Currently we don't need a humongous and complex reactor for our needs, so we are just going to build a small reactor which will get the job done. This is a starter reactor and it could be replaced by a bigger one as you get more materials.
Materials
- 1 steam channel;
- 4 fuel rods;
- 8 boron neutron absorbers;
- 4 graphite moderators;
- 1 steam connector (optional);
- 1 industrial steam turbine;
- 1 auxiliary cooling tower;
- 1 barrel;
- 1 Ra226Be RBMK neutron source;
- 4 MEP RBMK fuel rods;
- 21 cover panels (any variant).
Procedure
- Find a spacious spot where you will build your RBMK reactor. Once you've found that, place down a moderator, then place down 2 fuel rods and a steam channel next to it (the fuel rods should be opposite to each other), then surround the fuel rods with moderators and neutron reflectors (refer to figure A).
- Underneath the reactor, Dig a hole and connect a water fluid duct to the bottom of the steam channel; then above the reactor, connect a steam fluid duct to the top of the steam channel.
- Alternatively, if you don't want a pipe above the reactor, place down a steam connector underneath the water pipe and the steam channel and then place the steam pipe under the connector (refer to figure B).
- Connect the fluid ducts that are set to water to your cooling tower and place a barrel next to the pipe. Place down your steam turbine, and connect the steam pipe to the turbines, connect the turbine which is outputting low-pressure steam to the cooling tower and basically form a cooling loop like you did with the ZIRNOX and PWR (refer to figure C).
- Once all that is done, place down your cover panels on top of the RBMK channels to prevent radiation from leaking. Then put your MEP rods in the fuel rod then quickly place and replace a Ra226Be neutron source in one of the fuel rods to start the reactor.
RBMK Irradiation Products
The RBMK irradiation channel allows us to transmute materials into different items using the flux from our RBMK reactor. Below is a few materials that will be extremely important at this stage of the game.
Bismuth/Arsenic
Bismuth is an extremely rare heavy element used to created versatile chipsets and other late-tier items. As the (former) tooltip states, it is a post-RBMK gate. It can be used to make various items like SiOX cancer medication to eliminate lung diseases, a tier 5 anvil, the bismuth pickaxe and bismuth armor.
It can be produced in various ways:-
- Bismuth is found in the decay chains of most nuclear waste, short-lived and long-lived nuclear waste, most of which consist of 15% bismuth with a few exceptions: neptunium fuel produces absolutely no bismuth and decayed highly enriched plutonium-241 fuel waste consists of 55% bismuth.
- Bismuth can be bred more directly using bismuth zirconium fast breeders which yields 43.3% bismuth fully depleted, with an initial investment of 1 bismuth nugget per billet, making a total of 8 nuggets in investment per rod to potentially get ~20-21 nuggets (assuming average normal distribution).
- Bismuth can be obtained from decaying lead-209, produced by spent low enriched australium fuel.
- Bismuth can also be made by processing heavy metal bedrock ore with high-performance solvent.
But, initially for now, you can deplete thorium fuel rods as they have the best chance of giving a bismuth nugget:
- Deplete thorium fuel in a RBMK, it'll take a while, you can take out the fuel rod when it's 80% depleted.
- Disassemble the fuel rod in a crafting table.
- Put the pellets into the SILEX and hope for tiny piles of short-lived nuclear waste.
- Turn the tiny piles of short-lived nuclear waste into short-lived nuclear waste.
- Put the short-lived nuclear waste into a Nuclear Waste Disposal Drum and wait for it to turn into long-lived nuclear waste. This'll take a while.
- Put the long-lived nuclear waste into the SILEX and hope for a few bismuth nuggets.
High-Performance Solvent
Main page: High-Performance Solvent
High-performance solvent, also known as HPS, is a very important late mid-game fluid in the mod, allowing for the full processing of bedrock ore, and in the production of fullerene solution, a fluid used to make crystalline fullerite, a material used in many end-game recipes. It is a light blue, corrosive, flammable, radioactive fluid, providing 150.0kTU per bucket.
High-performance solvent can be produced in two different ways: In the industrial mixer and in an RBMK irradiation channel:
250mB
750mB
1,000mB
  100mB |
Tritium
Main page: Tritium
Tritium (Hydrogen-3) is a weakly radioactive isotope of hydrogen which can only be acquired by irradiating lithium or breeding it. It is used in a fusion reactor along with deuterium
Progression Gate: RBMK
An RBMK must be constructed in order to progress further within the mod, as it is the only way to produce your first bismuth. This makes the RBMK a "hard gate" to progression. Once you have successfully produced bismuth from your RBMK, either via an irradiation channel or by processing spent fuel, you may continue progressing through this guide.
Designing Your Own RBMK Reactors
Once you have a basic grasp of RBMK design (or you wish to try a few more beginner designs!), more reactor designs and tips can be found at Guide: Designing an RBMK Reactor.
Advanced Petrochemicals 
Main page: Advanced Petroleum Processing
Once we have progressed beyond RBMK, a whole suite of new petrochemical products become available to us. Revisit Guide: Petroleum Processing to learn more about constructing an advanced oil refinery so you can get the required materials discussed below.
Reformate/Reformate Gas
Main pages: Reformate, Reformate Gas
Reformate is a product of crude oil obtained via a vacuum refinery. This fluid is part of progression as it is used produce jet fuel, BTX and more. It is a flammable and combustible fluid that provides 2.4 and 6.0 MHE per bucket.
It can be produced by pressurizing crude oil to 2 PU and processing it in a vacuum refinery.
Reformate gas is a gaseous version of reformate. Though it has many different uses, it also is the 3rd fluid in terms of how much HE and TU per bucket it can generate.
It can be produced in a vacuum refinery by processing desulfurized crude oil which is pressurized to 2 PU.
BTX
Main page: BTX
BTX is also a product of crude oil obtained via a vaccum refinery. This fluid is important of progression which is because it's the only fluid that can produce Hard Plastic in addition with phosgene. It is a flammable, combustible and a high fuel grade fluid which can generate electricity providing 3.15MTU and 7.87MHE per bucket. It is also used in endgame to make crystalline fullerite which is used to craft inertial confinement fusion reactor (ICF) and FEnSU, though that isn't important currently....
BTX can be produced in only 2 ways. And those are through fractioning tower(s). BTX can be acquired doing the following processes:
 100mB  40mB 60mB 100mB60mB 40mB |
Hard Plastic/PVC
Main page: Hard Plastic
Hard plastic is a post-bismuth crafting material used in various late game recipes including missiles, the catalytic reformer, and various circuits. It can be produced in a chemical plant with the following recipe:
500mB 500mB |
PVC is an alternative to hard plastic that is crafted with cadmium. It is useful in that it no longer requires BTX to craft and uses less chlorine and unsaturated hydrocarbons, but the presence of cadmium introduces different challenges to production.
It can be produced in a chemical plant with the following recipe:
 250mB250mB |
Jet Fuel
Main page: Jet Fuel
Jet fuel is a fluid used by a few missiles, and can be burned in a turbofan for large-scale energy production. This fluid is an aviation grade fuel which is a flammable, combustible and polluting fluid, providing either 6.4 MTU or 9.6 MHE per bucket depending on use case.
It can be acquired by 2 ways, fractioning and mixing:
 100mB60mB 40mB100mB 900mB1,000mB
|
Saturnite 
Main page: Saturnite
Saturnite is a very durable, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant alloy that is commonly used in containers, weapons, and knives. We need it as the Watz power plant requires it which is necessary for progression. Its plate form is what's most used in items, blocks, and machines, such as the antimatter containment barrel. It can be combined with meteorite powder to make starmetal.
It can be produced in a rotary furnace with the following recipe.
250mB 2 Ingots
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Saturnite Anvil
Saturnite can be used to make the 3rd tier of anvil, not much to explain, just unlocks some extra recipes. Can be made by combining a normal iron anvil with 10 saturnite in a anvil.
Starmetal
Starmetal is an unique, natural alloy that comes from outer space. It is commonly found in asteroids, meteorites, and other rocky bodies found in space. It can be made artificially on Earth too however, so you don't have to rely on luck with meteors or an expensive asteroid mining ship. It's is a very durable, yet reactive alloy that is used in many "exotic" recipes like the schrabidium clusters.
It can be found in meteors or mined with the asteroid mining ship as crystals. It is usually made in a blast furnace by combining saturnite and meteorite powder however, since the former methods can take a long time.