Wastepack atomizer

The wastepack atomizer cleanly destroys toxic wastepacks, preventing the spread of pollution.

Acquisition

Wastepack atomizers can be constructed after studying a nano structuring chip, obtained from defeating a Apocriton, and completing the Wastepack atomizer research project. Each requires 200 Steel, 50 Plasteel, 1 Nano structuring chip, 30,000 ticks (8.33 mins) of work, and a Construction skill of 8.

Summary

Wastepack atomizers use 400 W of power. Atomizers hold up to 10 toxic wastepacks, equivalent to two stacks. A single wastepack is destroyed every 30,000 ticks (12 in-game hours) inside a powered atomizer. Pawns only reload the atomizer with full stacks of wastepacks (5 units/stack), or once every 2.5 days. Wastepacks do not deteriorate in the atomizer.

Values Reference Table
Ticks to Atomize 1 Wastepack	30,000 ticks (12 in-game hours)
Wastepacks Per Stack	5 Wastepacks
Wastepacks Atomized Per Day	2 Wastepacks
Wastepack Atomizer Capacity	10 Wastepacks
Days to Atomize a Filled Atomizer	5 Days

Analysis

Atomizers are the primary, consequence-free means of dealing with pollution, along with polux trees. Pollution can cause negative effects over time, and you will run out of space by simply freezing wastepacks. Dumping, whenever by caravan, transport pod, or shuttle, has their own cost. Dumping anywhere near a faction causes goodwill hits, and potentially cause other diplomatic consequences.

However, each atomizer a player wishes to build requires defeating an apocriton for its nano structuring chip, which makes building multiple atomizers quite prohibitive. These chips can also be used for advanced mechanitor gear or gestating your own war queen, creating an opportunity cost.

Sustainability

Toxifier generators

A toxifier generator produces 6 tiles of pollution every 3 days, which is converted into 1 wastepack by a pollution pump. An atomizer can destroy 6 wastepacks in 3 days, and a pump can convert 2 generators of pollution. Therefore, 1 atomizer (-400 W) can support 6 generators (+1400 W) and 3 pumps (-200 W), for a total net power gain of 7400 W.

This is entirely clean power, though a small area around each generator will be polluted before the pump extracts it. The only work required is hauling the wastepacks to the atomizer.

Mechanoids

Mechanoids will produce wastepacks proportional to their bandwidth every 12 days - working for 10 days and recharging for 2 days. An atomizer will destroy 24 wastepacks in 12 days. The table below shows how many mechanoids a single building will support per 12 day cycle, assuming 100% work uptime. Mechanoids that are idle or dormant will produce less waste.

Mechanoids	Bandwidth	Wastepacks Produced (per 12 day Cycle)	# Mechanoids (per atomizer)
Constructoid, Agrihand, Lifter, Cleansweeper, Militor, Fabricor, Paramedic, Scorcher	1	5	4.8
Legionary, Pikeman, Scyther	2	10	2.4
Lancer, Tesseron, Tunneler	3	15	1.6
Centipede (all)	4	20	1.2
Centurion, Diabolus, War queen	5	25	0.96

By the time most players have finished the 8000 research points Wastepack atomizer project, they are highly likely to already have more mechs producing wastepacks than a single atomizer is capable of processing. However, if most of your mechs are dormant - combat mechs dormant outside of combat, for instance - then you will be producing much less pollution.

Version history

Biotech DLC Release - introduced.
1.4.3531 - Fix: Pawns won't haul wastepacks to an atomizer unless there's 10 wastepacks on the map. Fix: Atomizer is backwards by default.
1.4.3555 - Reduced the power needed for the wastepack atomizer to 400 W, from 800 W. Fix: Atomizer looks like it's rotated wrong by default.

Architect

Biotech: Band node • Growth vat • Mech booster • Mechband antenna • Mechband dish • Mech gestator • Large mech gestator • Mech recharger • Large mech recharger • Pollution pump • Subcore encoder • Subcore softscanner • Subcore ripscanner • Wastepack atomizer
Deathrest: Deathrest casket • Deathrest accelerator • Hemogen amplifier • Hemopump • Glucosoid pump • Psychofluid pump
Genetics: Gene assembler • Gene bank • Gene extractor • Gene processor