Cathode Active Material & Precursor Manufacturing worked example

Co-Precipitation Efficiency at 68% target co-precipitation efficiency: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop target co-precipitation efficiency to 68%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Calculate how much dissolved metal feed reports to usable precursor solids instead of filtrate, wash water, off-spec material, or process loss.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Metal recovered in precursor solids: 8 kg metal (held at the documented default)
  • Metal fed to precipitation: 250 kg metal (held at the documented default)
  • Target co-precipitation efficiency: 68 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 95)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Co-precipitation efficiency = metal recovered in precursor solids ÷ metal fed to precipitation × 100.
  • Co-precipitation efficiency works out to 3.2 % at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Co-precipitation gap to target works out to 64.8 points at these inputs.
  • Metal recovered in precursor solids works out to 8 count at these inputs.
  • Metal fed to precipitation works out to 250 count at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target co-precipitation efficiency sits at 95% and the headline result is 3.2 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 3.2 %.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to target co-precipitation efficiency, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. Both inputs must be expressed as contained metal mass, not sulfate or hydroxide mass — mixing mass bases produces a meaningless ratio, as the low example result illustrates.

Results at a glance

  • Co-precipitation efficiency: 3.2 % (headline result)
  • Co-precipitation gap to target: 64.8 points
  • Metal recovered in precursor solids: 8 count
  • Metal fed to precipitation: 250 count

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Co-Precipitation Efficiency calculator, set target co-precipitation efficiency to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.