The Platinum Processing Line (henceforth just Platline) is the series of interwoven machines that turn Platinum Metallic Powder Dust into the six Platinum-group metals which are critical to your progress from EV onwards. In this article, we aim to decompose the overwhelming entirety of the platline into a digestible form for the new player, as well as provide tips and recommendations for the experienced GTNH connoisseur.

Introduction

Total platline inputs and outputs, broken into simple chemicals (click for full size):

File:2.2.0.0 Platline gtnh-flow diagram.png

The platinum-group metals consist of these six elements:

Platinum (Pt)
Palladium (Pd)
Rhodium (Rh)
Ruthenium (Ru)
Iridium (Ir)
Osmium (Os)

In GTNH, these six elements are used in various crafting recipes.

Platinum is notably used extensively in circuit components, and late-game crafting will easily use it in the thousands. Palladium and Rhodium are used to make Rhodium-plated Palladium, the LuV-tier hull material. Ruthenium and Iridium are used together to make Ruridit, used extensively in LuV-tier machinery. Iridium is used on its own as the ZPM-tier hull material. Iridium and Osmium are used together to make Osmiridium, which finds niche uses in certain ZPM-tier applications. Osmium is used on its own as the UV-tier hull material.

All of these metals are used extensively, and thus the engineering of a dedicated processing line for the sole purpose of purifying these dusts non-stop is critical. Some players see a complete and functional platline as the turning point marking a player's ascension from EV-tier into IV-tier, partially due to the final step requiring overclocking from EV into IV to complete, and partially because of a shift in mentality from simple batch-crafting towards a continuous-process mindset.

Starting Out

We will assume the reader's familiarity with multiblock machines like the Large Chemical Reactor (LCR) and the Electric Blast Furnace (EBF), amongst others. These machines are used extensively throughout the platline. Platinum Metallic Powder Dust (PMP) can be acquired directly in multiple ways,

Before any purification can begin, we first must acquire some starting material. At EV, before easy access to Platinum Ore, there are several ores that we can target. These will be referred to as platinum-bearing purified ores from now on.

Nickel Ore. Crush and wash with Mercury in a Chemical Bath to yield 2x PMP at a 70% chance.
Chalcopyrite/Tetrahedrite/Pentlandite Ore. Once purified, can be directly used as starting material in the platline.
Platinum Combs from Platinum Bees. Makes nuggets and Platinum Concentrate for Main Cycle 2 of Basic Platinum Extraction.
Centrifuging Endstone Dust. 25% chance for 2x PMP. Can be grown with Yellow Stonelilly (IC2 Crops).
Centrifuging Moon Stone Dust. 5% chance for 8x PMP.

The pre-processing of materials to yield usable purified ores or PMP are not commonly thought of as part of the platline. There are also many chemicals that we will need for a seamless platline to function, listed in the table below. Chlorine and Water are not listed below, though they are also needed.

Process	Chemicals	Recyclable?	Remarks
Basic Platinum Extraction	Aqua Regia	Fully	The Nitric Acid component can be regenerated from Nitrogen Dioxide, and then mixed with Diluted Sulfuric Acid to fully recover all Aqua Regia used
	Ammonium Chloride	Partially	Made with Ammonia and Hydrochloric Acid
	Calcium Dust	Partially	Electrolysis of Calcium Chloride enables recovery of Calcium and partial recovery of Chlorine
Palladium Extraction	Formic Acid	No	Requires 2 LCRs to make if starting from Carbon Monoxide (3 LCRs if starting from Carbon Dust). Sodium Formate and Formic Acid can be done in one LCR with some input shuttering, fluid detectors, and machine controllers as it is not needed in large enough amounts to need separate multis.
	Ammonia (optional)	Partially	Main use is to dissolve excess Palladium Metallic Powder Dust into Palladium-Enriched Ammonia
Platinum Residue Processing	Molten Potassium Disulfate	Partially	The Potassium component can be fully recovered. Synthesis is a 2-step process, requiring an LCR to make the dust, and then fluid-extraction into the molten form
	Saltpeter	No	Obtained either from its ore or synthesis in LCRs
	Salt Water	Fully	More salt is produced by the platline then is consumed, and salt water can be mixed on site, with excess salt siphoned off for electrolysis
	Hydrochloric Acid	Partially	Chlorine is recovered at various stages of the platline, but platline is an overall chlorine sink
Rhodium Extraction	Zinc Dust	Fully	Electrolysis of Zinc Sulfate Dust will allow for recovery of all Zinc used
	Salt	Fully	See Salt Water above
	Sodium Nitrate	No	Synthesis on-site is highly recommended
	Hydrochloric Acid	Partially	See above
Ruthenium Extraction	Steam	No	Don't try and recycle this. Use a central Fluid Heater PA to provide steam on demand for all applications.
	Hydrochloric Acid	Partially	See above
Iridium Extraction	Hydrochloric Acid	Partially	See above
	Ammonium Chloride	Partially	See above
	Calcium Dust	Partially	See above
Osmium Extraction	Hydrochloric Acid	Partially	See above

Basic Platinum Extraction

With our starting material acquired, we can begin the Main Cycle of platinum purification. These can be thought of as 4 discrete steps.

Steps	Machine	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Main Cycle 1	LCR	Platinum Metallic Powder Dust and/or Platinum-bearing purified ores + Aqua Regia	Platinum Concentrate Platinum Residue (only if Platinum Metallic Powder Dust is used)	Has two variants, 1 for tiny dusts and 1 for full dusts
Main Cycle 2	LCR / Centrifuge	Platinum Concentrate Ammonium Chloride	Platinum Salt Dust Reprecipitated Platinum Dust Nitrogen Dioxide Diluted Sulfuric Acid Palladium-enriched Ammonia	Has two variants, 1 for tiny dusts and 1 for full dusts
Main Cycle 3	Sifting Machine / Large Sifter	Platinum Salt Dust	Refined Platinum Salt Dust	Input-Output ratio is 1:0.95 on average
Main Cycle 4	EBF	Refined Platinum Salt Dust	Platinum Metallic Powder Dust Chlorine	Platinum Metallic Powder Dust is then channeled back into Step 1

The astute reader may note that several outputs are not cycled, and will enter the following processes.

Steps	Machine	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Platinum Purification	LCR	Reprecipitated Platinum Dust Calcium Dust	Platinum Dust Calcium Chloride	Calcium Chloride can be electrolyzed to fully recover Calcium and partially recover Chlorine
Aqua Regia Recovery 1	LCR	Nitrogen Dioxide Oxygen Water	Nitric Acid	Step 1 of the 2-step process to fully recycle Aqua Regia
Aqua Regia Recovery 2	Mixer	Nitric Acid Diluted Sulfuric Acid	Aqua Regia	Step 2 of the 2-step process to fully recycle Aqua Regia

Again, the reader will note that Palladium-enriched Ammonia and Platinum Residue are not yet used. This is because Palladium-enriched Ammonia is the starting material for Palladium Extraction, and Platinum Residue must be further processed before it can be useful to us.

Palladium Extraction

Before we can start turning our Palladium-enriched Ammonia into pure Palladium Dust, we first do these steps.

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Direct Precipitation	LCR	Palladium-enriched Ammonia	Palladium Salt Dust	Only a small amount needed at the start
Palladium Cycle 2	Sifting Machine / Large Sifter	Palladium Salt Dust	Palladium Metallic Powder Dust	Input-Output ratio is 1:0.95

This is because we need Palladium Metallic Powder Dust for a subsequent step, but a starting platline engineer will not have Palladium Metallic Powder Dust available. Don't worry, the machines used in this initial phase are used in the subsequent palladium processes.

After running your palladium extraction for a while, you might notice that you end up being restricted by the amount of Palladium-enriched Ammonia produced, and not by the amount of Palladium Metallic Powder Dust available to you. This is where the following step will come into play.

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Direct Dissolution	LCR	Palladium Metallic Powder Dust Ammonia	Palladium-enriched Ammonia	Used to convert excess Palladium Metallic Powder Dust back to Palladium-enriched Ammonia

Now that we are aware of these two methods of cross-conversion between Palladium-enriched Ammonia and Palladium Metallic Powder Dust, we can look at the Palladium Extraction Processes.

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Palladium Cycle 1	LCR	Palladium-enriched Ammonia Palladium Metallic Powder Dust	Palladium Salt Dust Reprecipitated Palladium Dust	Has a tiny-dust and full-dust variant
Palladium Cycle 2	Sifting Machine / Large Sifter	Palladium Salt Dust	Palladium Metallic Powder Dust	Input-Output ratio is 1:0.95. The output can be fed back into Palladium Cycle 1 or sent for Direct Dissolution to create new Palladium-enriched Ammonia
Palladium Purification	LCR	Reprecipitated Palladium Dust Formic Acid	Palladium Dust Ammonia Ethylene Water	The truly-desperate can recover the Ethylene, but voiding all 3 is more recommended

Platinum Residue Processing

With palladium addressed, we now turn to the Platinum Residue gathered earlier. Processing of this valuable material in these 3 steps will yield the starting inputs to purifying the remaining 4 platinum-group elements.

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Platinum Residue Processing 1	EBF	Platinum Residue Molten-Potassium Disulfate	Rhodium Sulfate Leach Residue Dust	Rhodium Sulfate continues on to Rhodium Extraction
Platinum Residue Processing 2	EBF	Leach Residue Dust Saltpeter Salt Water	Sodium Ruthenate Rarest Metal Residue Steam	Sodium Ruthenate continues on to Ruthenium Extraction
Platinum Residue Processing 3	EBF	Rarest Metal Residue Hydrochloric Acid	Iridium Metal Residue Dust Acidic Osmium Solution	Iridium Metal Residue Dust continues on to Iridium Extraction Acidic Osmium Solution continues on to Osmium Extraction

Rhodium Extraction

Quite possibly the longest chain of processes in the entire platline, the Rhodium Extraction Processes consist of the following steps, using Rhodium Sulfate as the starting material.

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Rhodium Extraction 1	LCR	Rhodium Sulfate Water	Leach Residue Molten-Potassium Rhodium Sulfate Solution	Leach Residue channeled to Platinum Residue Processing 2 Molten-Potassium can be fluid-solidified and macerated to recover Potassium Dust to make Potassium Disulfate
Rhodium Extraction 2	LCR	Rhodium Sulfate Solution Zinc Dust	Zinc Sulfate Dust Crude Rhodium Metal Dust	Zinc Sulfate Dust can be electrolyzed to fully recover Zinc, some Sulfur and Oxygen
Rhodium Extraction 3	EBF	Crude Rhodium Metal Dust Salt Chlorine	Rhodium Salt Dust
Rhodium Extraction 4	Mixer	Rhodium Salt Dust Water	Rhodium Salt Solution
Rhodium Extraction 5	LCR	Rhodium Salt Solution Sodium Nitrate	Rhodium Nitrate Dust Salt	Salt recovered here can be sent to Rhodium Extraction 3, Platinum Residue Processing 2 (to mix Salt Water on-site), or electrolyzed
Rhodium Extraction 6	Sifting Machine / Large Sifter	Rhodium Nitrate Dust	Rhodium Filter Cake Dust	Input-Output ratio of 1:0.95
Rhodium Extraction 7	Mixer	Rhodium Filter Cake Dust Water	Rhodium Filter Cake Solution
Rhodium Extraction 8	LCR	Rhodium Filter Cake Solution	Reprecipitated Rhodium Dust
Rhodium Extraction 9	LCR	Reprecipitate Rhodium Dust Hydrochloric Acid	Rhodium Dust Ammonia Chlorine	The output from this step is extremely low (lower than the rest of the platline processes) so you can void the chem outputs here if you're lazy instead of recycling it.

Ruthenium Extraction

Less of a pain than Rhodium Extraction, the Ruthenium Extraction Processes make use of a more diverse set of multiblock machines than the other processes so far.

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Ruthenium Extraction 1	LCR	Sodium Ruthenate Chlorine	Ruthenium Tetroxide Solution
Ruthenium Extraction 2	Fluid Heater / Oil Cracker	Ruthenium Tetroxide Solution Steam (Oil Cracker only)	Hot Ruthenium Tetroxide Solution	Using the Oil Cracker is recommended as it doubles the output vs using a Fluid Heater (alongside coil-associated efficiency bonuses)
Ruthenium Extraction 3	DT	Hot Ruthenium Tetroxide Solution	Salt Water Ruthenium Tetroxide (liquid)	Order of outputs is from bottom to top
Ruthenium Extraction 4	Fluid Solidifier	Ruthenium Tetroxide (liquid)	Ruthenium Tetroxide Dust
Ruthenium Extraction 5	LCR	Ruthenium Tetroxide Dust	Ruthenium Dust Chlorine Water

Iridium Extraction

We're almost at the end of the Platline, with just two more metals to tear out!

Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Iridium Extraction 1	EBF	Iridium Metal Residue Dust	Sludge Dust Residue Dust Iridium Dioxide Dust	Sludge Dust Residue Dust can be centrifuged to recover Silicon Dioxide Dust and Gold Dust
Iridium Extraction 2	LCR	Iridium Dioxide Dust Hydrochloric Acid	Acidic Iridium Solution
Iridium Extraction 3	LCR	Acidic Iridium Solution Ammonium Chloride	Iridium Chloride Dust Ammonia	Recommended to just void the Ammonia
Iridium Extraction 4	LCR	Iridium Chloride Dust Calcium Dust	Metallic Sludge Dust Residue Dust Iridium Dust Calcium Chloride (liquid)	Metallic Sludge Dust Residue Dust can be centrifuged to recover Nickel Dust and Copper Dust Liquid Calcium Chloride can be fluid-solidified directly to Calcium Chloride (dust) and electrolyzed

Osmium Extraction

Lastly, we arrive at the Osmium Extraction Processes, quite possibly the simplest part of the platline.


Processes	Machines	Inputs	Outputs	Remarks
Osmium Extraction 1	DT	Acidic Osmium Solution	Osmium Solution Water	Order of outputs is from bottom to top. This step is painfully slow and thus, using a MDT or a Dangote Distillus is recommended for the advanced platline engineer
Osmium Extraction 2	LCR	Osmium Solution Hydrochloric Acid	Osmium Dust Chlorine Water

Note that Osmium Extraction 1 requires use of IV-tier voltage, so the EV player who is making their first platline will either need to overclock theirs with 2 EV Energy Hatches, or use the Iridium so diligently extracted previously to make an IV Energy Hatch to power Step 1.

Tips and Recommendations

Chemicals which can be perfectly recycled, with some effort, are Aqua Regia and Potassium for Potassium Disulfate. All other chemicals used are not perfectly recycled and will require an external source of replenishment.

All sifting steps should be performed using the GT++ Large Sifter multiblock for maximum speed. Sifting is a known bottlenecking point for the various process sections.

For fluid extraction and fluid solidification, the GT++ Large Processing Factory is far too expensive to just dedicate for use in a platline (until ZPM+), so use of a Processing Array (PA) with at least 32 MV/HV-tier single-block machines inside will facilitate your platline smoothly chugging along.

If your budget allows for it, you can use the GT++ Industrial Mixing Machine for the mixing steps, though a HV-tier single-block mixer will suffice for a while.

While it may be tempting to use singleblocks or do multiple recipes in one multi to save on materials, the demands of the platline only grow as you progress. It is recommended to use individual multis for everything (with some exceptions, e.g. aqua regia mixer as noted above). Using primarily multiblocks allows for easy scaling by swapping out energy hatches as necessary.

For players with access to Platinum Ore & Sheldonite Ore (T3 Rocket or Far End Asteroids), processing of these ores to yield Platinum Metallic Powder Dust is the superior starting input for the platline, even over the purified platinum-bearing ores. Sheldonite obtained in this fashion can be processed in two ways: it can be centrifuged to yield both Platinum Metallic Powder Dust as well as Palladium Metallic Powder Dust, alongside nickel and sulfur, or it can be directly smelted for twice as much Platinum Metallic Powder Dust. The suggested way is smelting as the ratio between Sheldonite Dust and Platinum Metallic Powder Dust is 1:2, rather than the 1:1 offered by centrifuging it.

The platline is a perfect candidate for using a subnet for abstraction, simplification, and reducing the overall necessary size of your main AE network. A network with minimal storage that all platline related dusts are routed to by high-priority storage bus, and all platline outputs are routed away from back to the main network in the same way is common. Additionally, the various fluids can be easily handled with fluid p2p as it is many-to-many.

Sample Platlines

Due to the complexity of the platline and the 3D nature of Minecraft, it is easy for different players to engineer different setups that all fulfil the function of being a "Platline". These designs below serve as samples for how you too can engineer your own platline. Use and/or abuse these to your heart's content.

Two-Chunk Platline 1 (top view). Auxiliary single-block machinery are hidden in the basement.

Two-Chunk Platline 1

This design makes use extensively of wallsharing for both LCRs and EBFs to save on materials. Several LCRs also perform multitasking, exploiting several features of the platline. In this manner, the entirety of the Platline can be performed with in a total volume of 32x16x10 blocks (2 chunks surface area x 10 blocks vertical space).

Two-Chunk Platline 2 (top view). Again, auxiliary single-block machines are hidden in the basement.

Two-Chunk Platline 2

This successor design also makes extensive use of wallsharing, as well as Processing Arrays to perform parallelized single-block processes. With the advent of full-dust recipes, the use of packagers for platline designs are no longer necessary. Again, non-annotated steps are done by single-block machines buried in the basement.

A platline built across 7 chunk-sized vertical slices in a tower format.

Platline Tower

This abomination of a design has several measures taken in order to maximize throughput.

Firstly, each process has a dedicated multiblock machine in order to eliminate recipe shifting delays (5s between recipe shifts).

Secondly, all machines utilize fluid/item detectors and machine controller covers to intelligently throttle activity based on presence of outputs, to minimize voiding losses.

Thirdly, all machines have been optimized to utilize overclocking to the fullest, and some have achieved 1t/recipe, which is a fundamental limit on recipe speed.

Lastly, AE is used to intelligently deliver required inputs and manage outputs, including Fluid P2P for fluid logistics and GTEU P2P for energy delivery.

Due to the intensive material requirements for such a design, designs of this scope are recommended only for late-game players (ZPM+) who desperately need the throughput that this setup can provide.

Labeled Platline

This design sacrifices a majority of its in-world process grouping to allow the player to place machines largely where they see fit.

It relies on two things: a sufficiently large AE network or subnet to allow liberal use of P2P and other AE multiparts, and a combination of signs and an accompanying flowchart. The flowchart can be photo edited to add identifying codes which can then be put on signs attached to each machine. These codes allow the player to easily figure out what each machine does and where it's located on the flowchart.

The main draw of this type of design is twofold: modularity and documentation. In terms of modularity, the design allows the player to easily add, modify, or upgrade machines in any part of the process. Sections of connected machines can be segmented without losing information on what each machine does, since all of them have a label correlating to the flowchart. In terms of documentation, the design allows players unfamiliar with either your implementation of platline or platline as a whole to more easily understand where everything fits together so long as they have the corresponding edited flowchart, even if the machines themselves are all over the place.

A partially-completed, low throughput platline built with flowchart labels on each machine. Each sign also contains a short descriptor of the machine's function.