Calculator · processing
Processing recovery calculator
Calculates the share of a processing input that leaves as each declared output stream, and the balance the entered figures do not explain.
Result
Enter values to see a result.
Formula & assumptions
Processing recovery
formula v1.0.0 · calc v1 · reviewed 2026-07-16Recovery% = m_output ÷ m_input × 100
Applies to: Processing steps that separate or transform a declared input.
Assumptions
- Both masses are on the same basis and in the same unit. Comparing an as-received input with a dried output measures drying as well as recovery.
Limitations
- A ratio of the two masses entered — nothing more. It is not an expected or benchmark yield, and this platform publishes no expected recovery figures, because they depend on the commodity, the equipment, the settings, and the specification being met.
- Recovery is not yield: yield usually refers to production per unit area, which is a different quantity entirely.
- An output exceeding the input means mass was added (water, ingredients) or the masses are on different bases — the formula reports it rather than hiding it.
Scope
Not a commercial yield expectation and not a performance standard.
Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (opens in a new tab), USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) (opens in a new tab)
Unaccounted mass balance
formula v1.0.0 · calc v1 · reviewed 2026-07-16Unaccounted = m_input − (m_primary + m_coProduct + m_byProduct)
Applies to: Processing steps with declared output streams.
Assumptions
- All masses are on the same basis and in the same unit.
Limitations
- Unaccounted mass is NOT waste. It is the part the entered figures do not explain, and it may be moisture lost, dust, fines, material still in the plant, sampling error, or a stream nobody weighed. Calling it waste would assert a fate the numbers do not show.
- A negative result means the outputs exceed the input — mass was added, or the bases differ. It is surfaced, not clamped to zero.
Scope
A bookkeeping identity, not an environmental or efficiency claim.
Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (opens in a new tab), USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) (opens in a new tab)
About this tool
- A ratio of the masses entered, nothing more. It is not an expected or benchmark yield, and this platform publishes no expected recovery figures.
- Recovery is not yield: yield usually means production per unit area, which is a different quantity entirely.
- Every mass must be on the same basis and in the same unit. Comparing an as-received input with a dried output measures drying as well as recovery.
- A blank stream is read as absent (zero mass), not as unmeasured. An unweighed stream will surface in the unaccounted balance instead.
Educational reference — not a prescription
Not a commercial yield expectation, a performance standard, or an efficiency claim. No figure here establishes what a process ought to return.
- These calculators are for education and reference. The quality of any result depends entirely on the accuracy of the values you enter.
- Local agronomic conditions, legal requirements, product labels, and professional advice may override a general calculation.
- Results are not pesticide, fertilizer, irrigation, or veterinary prescriptions, and are not a substitute for advice from a qualified agronomist or your local extension service.