Nitrox & Advanced Gas Processing -- From Gas Starvation to Infinite Fuel

Your Fusion Reactor Is Starving and You Do Not Know Why

You built a gas extractor. Hooked it up. Nitrox was flowing. Then Station Level 6 hit, you added a second Fusion Reactor, and suddenly your Nitrox buffer is dropping faster than you can produce it. You check the gas vent – still pumping. You check the refinery – still running. But the numbers do not add up.

The problem is not a bug. It is that basic gas extraction tops out hard around Level 6-7. The solution is advanced gas processing: biomass conversion, nitratium harvesting, and a fully automated production chain that scales past what any single gas vent can supply.

Quick-Fix: The Three-Tier Gas Upgrade Path

Before diving into the full build, here is where you are and where you need to be:

If you are at Level 6 and your Nitrox is draining, jump straight to Tier 2. Skip Tier 1 expansions – they are a dead end.

Step 1: Nitratium – The Mid-Game Gas Gamechanger

Nitratium (sometimes called Nitridium in older patches) is a resource node found on certain asteroid fields and outer planets. It looks like a purple crystal cluster. Unlike gas vents that deplete, Nitratium Nodes regenerate over time.

Where to Find Nitratium

Best early spot: Cerberus Belt. Low danger, decent node count, close to starting area.

Setting Up Nitratium Harvesting

1. Build a Nitratium Harvester (unlocked after Chemical Processing research, Station Level 7+)
2. Place it directly on a Nitratium node
3. Connect power (50/sec per harvester)
4. Output goes to a storage tank or directly to your Chemical Synthesizer

One harvester on one node produces enough raw gas for one Fusion Reactor + one Chemical Synthesizer running at 60% capacity.

Step 2: Biomass-to-Gas Conversion

Biomass processing is the part most players miss. It lets you convert organic materials into Hydrogen and Oxygen – the building blocks of Nitrox. This is critical when your gas vents are far away or depleted.

The Biomass Chain

Where to get Organic Waste: Asteroid mining byproduct, crop farming on Terran planets, or recycling organic modules.

Step 3: The Automated Production Chain

Here is the full build for a self-sustaining Level 8+ gas processing line:

Bill of Materials

Total power draw: ~350/sec – one Fusion Reactor can handle this with headroom.

Layout Priority

1. Gas Extractor on the closest vent feeds the Chemical Synthesizers directly
2. Nitratium Harvesters feed into a shared storage tank
3. Biomass Processor feeds into the same Chemical Synthesizers
4. Chemical Synthesizers output Nitrox into a dedicated tank
5. Drones distribute Nitrox to Fusion Reactors

Real Scenario: My Lava World Nightmare

I built my mid-game station on a Lava World. Great for minerals. Terrible for gas. The nearest gas vent was three wormhole jumps away on a Terran planet. My Fusion Reactors were burning Nitrox at 24/min (two reactors) and my supply line was one freighter making a 5-minute round trip.

The fix: I dropped two Nitratium Harvesters on nearby Cerberus Belt nodes, set up a small Biomass Processor fed by asteroid mining byproducts, and built two Chemical Synthesizers on my main station. The Nitratium freighters delivered raw gas every 3 minutes. The biomass loop covered the gap. Total Nitrox production went from struggling at 300/hr to a stable 1800/hr.

Never lost power on that save again.

Scaling Beyond Level 10

Once you hit Station Level 10, gas demand skyrockets. Here is the scaling formula:

• 1 Fusion Reactor Mk2 = 30 Nitrox/min = 1800/hr
• 1 Advanced Chemical Synthesizer (unlocked Level 10) = 40 Nitrox/min = 2400/hr
• 3 Nitratium Harvesters + 1 Biomass Processor = enough raw gas for ~4000/hr

For a Level 12 station running 3 Fusion Mk2 reactors, you need:

See our Fusion Reactor Guide for exact fuel consumption math, and the Deep Space Gas Giant Mining Guide for remote gas outpost setups.

Community Resources

• Steam Guides (opens in new tab)
• Outworld Station on Reddit (opens in new tab)