Cathode Active Material & Precursor Manufacturing worked example

Wash Water Load with wash-water system load of 30 kW: a worked example

What does the result look like when wash-water system load reaches 30 kW? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when wash water load in cathode active material and precursor manufacturing is being quoted and energy is a real chunk of the cathode active material and precursor manufacturing cost stack.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Wash-water system load: 30 kW (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 12)
  • Wash-water operating hours: 8 hr (unchanged)
  • Energy price: 0.12 $ / kWh (unchanged)
  • Precursor washed: 1,000 kg precursor (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Wash-water energy cost = wash-water system load × wash-water operating hours × energy price) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 28.8 $ for wash-water energy cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 240 kWh for wash-water energy used.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.03 $ / piece for wash-water energy cost per kg precursor.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3.6 $ / hr for hourly wash-water energy cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where wash-water system load sits at 12 kW and the headline result is 11.52 $, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 28.8 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when wash-water system load is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It models electrical energy only at a single average load — it ignores wash-water heating fuel, demineralized-water production cost, and effluent treatment, which can dwarf the pumping energy.

Results at a glance

  • Wash-water energy cost: 28.8 $ (headline result)
  • Wash-water energy used: 240 kWh
  • Wash-water energy cost per kg precursor: 0.03 $ / piece
  • Hourly wash-water energy cost: 3.6 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Wash Water Load calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.