Refined Phosphorus

Refined Phosphorus is an in-game solid material produced from liquid Phosphorus. It serves both as a feed item for certain critters and as a consumable input for devices that alter volcanic activity. Refined Phosphorus is obtained by freezing Liquid Phosphorus (the product of melting Phosphorite) and appears naturally when sufficiently large quantities of Liquid Phosphorus solidify.

Producing Refined Phosphorus requires first melting Phosphorite into Liquid Phosphorus. Freezing Liquid Phosphorus yields Refined Phosphorus; because Refined Phosphorus has a higher specific heat capacity (0.77) than raw Phosphorite (0.15), the freezing process absorbs a significant amount of heat from its surroundings. When 160 kg or more of Liquid Phosphorus freezes, it forms natural tiles of Refined Phosphorus that must be mined to collect; mining a natural tile reduces that tile’s mass by 50%. Freezing amounts smaller than 160 kg will produce Refined Phosphorus debris that does not suffer the same 50% mass loss.

Refined Phosphorus is used in critter management and volcano manipulation. It is accepted as food by Azure Bugs and Abyss Bugs and can be used as bait in Airborne Critter Bait setups to attract flying critters that accept it. For planetary engineering, Refined Phosphorus is consumed by the Geotuner to boost metal volcanoes: each Geotuner consumes Refined Phosphorus to increase a metal volcano’s output and to raise the temperature of erupted molten metal. A single Geotuner consumes 80 kg of Refined Phosphorus to grant +20% metal output and +50°C eruption temperature for 600 seconds; multiple Geotuners stack, with effects cumulative up to five devices.

Practical notes and interactions:

• Use dedicated melt-and-freeze loops to convert mined Phosphorite into Refined Phosphorus while managing heat, since freezing is an endothermic step due to the higher SHC of Refined Phosphorus.
• To harvest naturally formed Refined Phosphorus tiles efficiently, aim to accumulate at least 160 kg of Liquid Phosphorus before freezing; otherwise you will get debris rather than mineable tiles.
• Store Refined Phosphorus in temperature-controlled containers if you need to keep it solid for feeding or Geotuner consumption.
• When planning Geotuner use to boost metal volcanoes, space and timing matter: each device consumes 80 kg and its buff lasts 600 seconds, so coordinate multiple Geotuners for sustained or amplified effects (up to five can stack).
• Feeding Azure Bugs and Abyss Bugs with Refined Phosphorus can be part of critter ranching strategies; it is also usable as a specialized bait for attracting compatible airborne critters.