Paper Recycling Yield Calculator

Calculate usable fiber yield from recycled paper, accounting for moisture, contaminants, deinking losses, and process losses. Includes cost analysis vs. virgin pulp.

Inputs

Feed weight (tons)

Feed moisture (%)

Contaminants (%)

Deinking loss (%)

Process loss (%)

Feed cost ($/ton)

Tab to move between fields

Results

Usable fiber (tons)

7.64

Overall yield (%)76.39

Reject/sludge (tons)2.36

Cost per ton usable ($)$157.09

Total feed cost ($)$1,200.00

Savings vs. virgin ($)$5,674.88

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the feed weight (tons) of incoming recycled paper stock.
Set feed moisture (%) and contaminant percentage (plastics, staples, adhesives).
Input deinking loss (%) and process loss (%) for your mill's specific operation.
Enter the feed cost per ton from your supplier.
Review Usable Fiber (tons), Overall Yield (%), Cost per Ton Usable, and Savings vs. Virgin fiber.

How the result changes with Feed weight (tons)

Feed weight (tons)	Usable fiber (tons)
10,000	7,638.76
35,000	26,735.66
65,000	49,651.94
90,000	68,748.84

What each input means

Feed weight (tons): Weight of incoming recycled paper feed stock in short tons.
Feed moisture (%): Moisture content of incoming feed (typically 6-12%).
Contaminants (%): Non-fiber contaminants: plastics, staples, adhesives, coatings (2-15% typical).
Deinking loss (%): Fiber lost during deinking by flotation or washing (5-15% typical).
Process loss (%): Additional screening, cleaning, and handling losses (3-8% typical).
Feed cost ($/ton): Purchase cost of recycled feed stock per short ton.

What each result means

Usable fiber (tons): Tons of clean, usable recycled fiber produced.
Overall yield (%): Percentage of feed weight recovered as usable fiber.
Reject/sludge (tons): Weight of rejected material and sludge.
Cost per ton usable ($): Effective cost per ton of usable recycled fiber.
Total feed cost ($): Total cost of purchasing the recycled feed stock.
Savings vs. virgin ($): Estimated savings compared to buying virgin kraft pulp at ~$900/ton.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Feed weight (tons) = 10, Feed moisture (%) = 8, Contaminants (%) = 5, Deinking loss (%) = 8 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Usable fiber
Usable fiber = afterDeinking * (1 - processLossPct / 100)
7.639 = 7.639
Calculate Overall yield
Overall yield = feedWeightTons > 0
76.39 = 76.39
Calculate Reject/sludge
Reject/sludge = feedWeightTons - usableFiberTons
2.361 = 2.361

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