Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Does the Imperium use Petrol products? Are their tanks run with gasoline/diesel and plastics made from the same? Just curious if this is covered at all in the lore (was looking at the exhaust vent on a chainsaw and I was curious).

Its called Promethium in the 40k universe.
As far as I have understood, it serves the exact same purpose as Petrol products, but is not necessarily the same thing.

The Gildar Rift involves the capture of a Promethium refinery, and the same precautions for assaulting an oil refinery were taken.

As to what their plastics are made of....who knows.

Do note that Promethium varies greatly from world to world, while it serves the same purpose it usually has some extra properties here and there.

If our Earth was on the 40k Universe, I guess our Petrol could be considered Promethium.

Promethium is used, although it is typically reserved for higher quality vehicles and as ammo for flamer weaponry.

Regular everyday fuel is called Multi-fuel, which appears to be a catchall term for various kinds of bio-fuels. Imperial vehicles appear to have engines capable of running on just about any flammable liquid you stick in the tank.

In my mind Promethium is a catch-all term for liquid hydrocarbon products.

Then you also won't see it used in everything anyway. It'd be somewhat dumb to try and run one of their ships on it for example. I also think it was the Leman Russ, if I remember correctly, which could basically run on anything you could fit into the fuel cell. Probably a bit of an exaggeration though.

Hence why I said they run on any Flammable liquid.


They definitly don't run their ships on any sort of Hydrocarbon. They run on Fusion generators.

Dreadnoughts, Titans, and Landraiders also run on Fusion power plants.


The only vehicles that run on straight promethium seem to be Space Marine vehicles and any Imperial organization that can afford to put it in their tanks. Everyone else gets to use Multi-fuel.

pretty much anything I figured. The Leman Russ can allegedly run on Wood or Coal. quite impressive for a multi fuel combustion engine to be built into a standard tank.

They can run on wood or coal, but that requires a different engine.

The STC prints both vehicles that run on hydrocarbon fuel or also on burning stuff like wood or coal.

 Flinty wrote:
In my mind Promethium is a catch-all term for liquid hydrocarbon products.

This is what I think as well, theres a bit in "age of darkness" where an Iron Warriors fortress is suspended in a cavern above a "lake of promethium", which sounded like it was crude oil to me. Imperial vehicles tend to run on this stuff because its more easy to maintain and find fuel for than fusion reactors, which are still very heavily used by the imperium.

 vodo40k wrote:

 Flinty wrote:
In my mind Promethium is a catch-all term for liquid hydrocarbon products.

This is what I think as well, theres a bit in "age of darkness" where an Iron Warriors fortress is suspended in a cavern above a "lake of promethium", which sounded like it was crude oil to me. Imperial vehicles tend to run on this stuff because its more easy to maintain and find fuel for than fusion reactors, which are still very heavily used by the imperium.

And Fusion reactors are expensive, hence why only very important/rare vehicles will use them. Such as Super heavies and things like Dreadnoughts and Landraiders.

 vodo40k wrote:

 Flinty wrote:
In my mind Promethium is a catch-all term for liquid hydrocarbon products.

This is what I think as well, theres a bit in "age of darkness" where an Iron Warriors fortress is suspended in a cavern above a "lake of promethium", which sounded like it was crude oil to me. Imperial vehicles tend to run on this stuff because its more easy to maintain and find fuel for than fusion reactors, which are still very heavily used by the imperium.

I've always imagined that the promethium in the lake resembled imulsion from Gears of War.

 Lightcavalier wrote:
Its called Promethium in the 40k universe.

No, it's not. Promethium is very much distinct from hydrocarbons given the what we know of where it is harvested/refined from.

Promethium is also more efficient and burns hotter.

"Our friend Promethium, Imperial Educational Press- on its 238th edition by 897 M.41.

From the Emperor blessed fighting machnes of the Astartes to the most humble spaceport cargo hauler, it can be truely said that the Imperium runs on Prmoethium. this might seem amazing enough on its own but this miraculous substance gives us so much more than just the power to feed the animating spirits of our vehicles. The alchemical byproducts of its production provide the raw materials to create a vast array of everday necessities from dyes, plastics and pharmacopoeia to the synthetic protein bars which make up the bulk of the diet on sme of the drearier forge worlds.
but its the combustibility of promethium which allows its most holy use. From the flamers which scourge the unholy with the purifying fire of the righteous to the alchemical constituants of the explosives which blast them into oblivion.
Promethium can be produced in a variety of ways and from an astonishing number of sources. Among the most common are the atmosphere of gas giant planets, subterranean deposits of ancient organid materials.........

Source - Caves of Ice