Battery Recycling & Materials Recovery calculator
Black Mass Recovery Yield Calculator
Black mass yield is a core mass-balance check for lithium-ion shredding, crushing, sieving, and separation operations. This calculator helps recyclers compare recovered active-material concentrate against incoming packs, modules, cells, or production scrap so they can spot low recovery or excessive residue loss.
What this calculator does
- Calculate black mass yield from recovered black mass weight, incoming battery feed mass, and the target recovery yield for a recycling run.
- a battery recycling plant needs to check whether a shredding and separation run recovered the expected black mass from incoming feed
- Returns recovered black mass as a percentage of incoming battery feed mass.
Formula used
- Black mass recovery yield = recovered black mass weight รท incoming battery feed mass
- Yield gap to target = target black mass yield - calculated black mass recovery yield
Inputs explained
- Recovered black mass weight: Use dry or as-received black mass consistently based on your plant's reporting standard.
- Incoming battery feed mass: Use the matching pack, module, cell, or production scrap mass charged to the line.
- Target black mass yield: Use the expected yield for the chemistry, format, and pretreatment route being processed.
How to use the result
- Use it for daily mass balance, shredder/sieve performance reviews, supplier lot comparisons, and recovery improvement projects.
- It is only as accurate as moisture basis, sampling, residue classification, and weigh-scale data; it does not calculate metal assay or payable metal recovery.
Common questions
- Should I use wet or dry black mass? Use the same basis used by your plant KPI or customer specification, and do not mix dry and as-received weights.
- Can production scrap be used as feed mass? Yes. Enter the scrap mass charged to the process if it matches the recovered black mass lot.
- What does a negative gap mean? It means calculated black mass yield is above the target; verify the mass basis and moisture before treating it as a true gain.
- How can I use this result? Use it to investigate separator settings, sieve losses, residue carryover, and expected black mass output for sales or refining.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.