Fluid system

Liquids (note) are non-solid items, examples including water and oil.

Behavior

Liquids can only exist inside pipes and certain buildings, meaning they cannot be carried by the player, moved using inserters, dropped on the ground, or even dumped in a lake. They are counted in continuous fractions, rather than discrete integers. Liquids can be silently destroyed by removing buildings or pipes, mixing types of liquid, or at the input of a steam engine.

Types

Water	Used in creating electricity and used in combination with other liquids.
File:Crude-oil.png Crude Oil	Extracted from Oil fields by Pumpjacks and can be converted to Petroleum Gas, Light Oil, and Heavy Oil.
File:Petroleum-gas.png Petroleum Gas	Converted from Crude Oil. Used to create various items.
File:Light-oil.png Light Oil	Converted from Crude Oil. Used to create various items. Can be converted into Petroleum Gas.
File:Heavy-oil.png Heavy Oil	Converted from Crude Oil. Can be converted to Light Oil and Lubricant.
File:Sulfuric-acid.png Sulfuric Acid	Converted from Sulfur, Iron Plates, and Water. Can be used to create various items.
Lubricant	Converted from Heavy Oil. Used mainly to create Express transport belts and Engines.

Machines

File:Oil-refinery.png Oil refinery	Converts Crude oil into Heavy oil, Light oil, and Petroleum gas.
File:Chemical-plant.png Chemical plant	Changes liquid to other forms as well as crafting some recipes that require liquids.
Pumpjack	Extracts Crude oil from Oil fields.
Boiler	When fueled increases the temperature of water flowing through.
File:Steam-engine.png Steam engine	Uses heated water to generate electricity.

Piping

Piping is the most common way to move liquids in factorio.

Key entities used in piping and general liquid/gas handling:

Pipe	Used to direct the flow of liquids.
File:Pipe-to-ground.png Pipe-to-ground	Used to cross other pipes or belts.
File:Storage-tank.png Storage tank	Stores liquids for later use.
Offshore pump	Provides Water extracted from a water tile.
File:Small-pump.png Small pump	Moves fluids from its input to its output when powered and prevents the opposite from happening always.

Pressure and throughput

Liquid will move in pipes from high pressure to low pressure. The pressure of a liquid in a pipe can be seen through the pipe window. A pipe with high pressure will show itself nearly full, a pipe with low pressure will show a small trickle of the liquid.

Flow mechanics

Main article: Liquids/Pipe physics

All types of liquid have the same properties, like their fluidity, density, and heat capacity.

Using water to generate power

Main articles: Liquids/Hot, Power Production

Liquids can be used to generate power.

Oil processing

Main article: Oil processing

History

Water was the first liquid to be added to the game. In v0.9 the oil processing system, and therefore new liquids, including crude oil and petroleum gas, were added.

See also

• Hot liquids
• Pipe physics

Notes

1. "Fluids" is the proper term for the concept this article is about, as it explains the properties and uses of both liquids and gases.