Brackwax

Brackwax is a solid material obtained from Brackene and used primarily as an industrial reagent and a mobility consumable in Oxygen Not Included. It appears as an intermediate/secondary product in Brackene processing and is required in small quantities for Plastium production. Brackwax has a relatively low melting point and poor thermal conductivity, which influences how it is produced and handled in high-temperature setups.

Brackwax production can be achieved in two principal ways. A Brackwax Gleaner processing Brackene produces 90 g/s Brackwax, 810 g/s Brine, and 100 g/s Carbon Dioxide for every 1000 g/s Brackene fed into it. Alternatively, heating Brackene causes phase transitions that yield Brackwax without producing CO2: heating to 83 °C converts 1000 g Brackene → 100 g Brackwax + 900 g Brine. If Brackene is heated further to about 105.75 °C the Brine component will boil, producing Steam and Salt and leaving 100 g Brackwax as a solid residue; drips of Brackene into a high-temperature steam room can therefore be used to concentrate Brackwax and make its byproducts easier to manage. Care must be taken not to let Brackwax reach 162.9 °C, at which point it melts irreversibly into Naphtha. Because Brackwax conducts heat poorly, small piles can survive brief exposures in very hot rooms (for example several seconds in 200 °C steam) if dripped or swept out quickly.

Brackwax is used in industry and colony logistics. The Molecular Forge recipe for Plastium requires 15 kg Thermium + 70 kg Plastic + 15 kg Brackwax → 100 kg Plastium, making Brackwax a necessary input for mid-to-late-game advanced materials. Brackwax also functions as a consumable coating for duplicants: applying Brackwax to a duplicant increases their travel speed inside Transit Tubes by 25%, with each transit consuming 50 g of Brackwax.

Practical notes and strategies:

• Use a Brackwax Gleaner where large steady flows of Brackene exist to continuously extract Brackwax, Brine, and CO2. If CO2 output is undesirable, consider heating Brackene to ~83 °C to avoid CO2 production and get a slightly different mix of byproducts.
• Dripping Brackene into a high-temperature steam room (110+ °C) rapidly converts most fluid byproducts into Steam and Salt, leaving solid Brackwax behind for easy collection by Sweepers or suited duplicants. Ensure dripped streams are fast enough (5+ kg/s) to prevent Brackwax from overheating.
• Prevent Brackwax from reaching 162.9 °C to avoid irreversible conversion to Naphtha; exploit its poor thermal conductivity to handle it in hotter environments briefly, but prioritize removal or cooling for larger piles.
• Plan Plastium production around steady Brackwax supply: each Molecular Forge batch consumes 15 kg Brackwax, so scale Brackene processing accordingly.
• Using Brackwax as a Transit Tube speed consumable can improve logistics in large colonies; place convenient access to Brackwax storage near Tube entry points and automate resupply to duplicants or grooming stations if available.
• Remember that although Brackwax is conceptually tied to Brackene, existing production methods do not produce Brackwax and Brackene simultaneously from the same operation except by processing or phase-changing Brackene directly.