Methods and Tools
Explore reproducible illustrative calculations.
These tools show their formulas, units and assumptions. They are indicative only. They do not certify any plant, product or permit, and nothing is saved.
Tool 01 / Illustration
Wet and dry solids: drying mass balance
If the dry solids in a material stay the same, drying to a higher dry-solids fraction reduces its total mass. Starting values are hypothetical. Change any of them.
D = M0 x DS0 / 100 M1 = D / (DS1 / 100) Water removed = M0 - M1
- Dry solids
- 20 dry t
- Wet mass after drying
- 25 wet t
- Water removed
- 75 t
- Mass reduction
- 75 %
Illustration only, using hypothetical values. Dry solids are assumed constant; real operations may lose dry matter or add chemicals, and energy, cost and suitability are not calculated here.
Assumptions and limits
- The mass of dry solids is unchanged. There are no added solids, reactions or process losses.
- The target must be at least the starting dry solids. This tool covers drying only.
- Calculations use the values as typed. Results are rounded only for display.
- Energy, cost, emissions and suitability for any use are not calculated.
Tool 02 / Illustration
Stock-flow reconciliation
Opening stock plus production and receipts, less reuse, transfers and disposal. Moving material to another stockpile is flagged as a transfer, not verified final reuse.
S_end = S0 + production + receipts - reuse - transfers - disposal
- Closing stock
- 700 wet t
- Verified final reuse (after stockpile moves)
- 650 wet t
- 250 t of the claimed reuse is only a move to another stockpile. That is a transfer, not independently verified final reuse.
Illustration only. Do not mix wet and dry tonnes. Records are hypothetical unless sourced to a named facility.
Tool 03 / Illustration
Nutrient loading and receiving-land budget
Total and estimated plant-available nutrients shown separately, plus nutrients arriving in irrigation water. Hypothetical values only.
Applied kg/ha = product t/ha x kg nutrient per t Available kg/ha = applied x assumed available fraction Irrigation kg/ha = ML/ha x mg/L (1 ML x 1 mg/L = 1 kg)
| kg/ha | N | P | K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total in product | 150 | 75 | 25 |
| Estimated plant-available | 30 | 37.5 | 20 |
| From irrigation water | 20 | 2 | not entered |
Total and plant-available amounts are kept separate on purpose. Availability fractions here are user assumptions, not measured. This tool never recommends an application rate, claims compliance, or supports applying an unapproved material. Product, soil and water analyses would be needed to go beyond a hypothetical case.
Tool 04 / Illustration
Moisture trade-off sandbox
How drying changes transport load and heat demand, with the assumptions listed. An honest answer can be: not enough data.
Assumption register
- Dry solids are conserved (no losses, no added chemicals).
- Latent heat of evaporation is taken as 2.26 GJ per tonne of water. Heating the material and dryer losses beyond the stated efficiency are ignored.
- Payload, distance and efficiency are your inputs, not measurements of any real operation.
- Cost, emissions and energy source are not calculated.
| Move wet | Dry first | |
|---|---|---|
| Wet mass (t) | 500 | 125 |
| Truckloads | 20 | 5 |
| Tonne-km | 75,000 | 18,750 |
- Water removed
- 375 t
- Heat input needed
- 1,412 GJ
Drying lowers transport but needs heat. Whether that is worthwhile depends on the energy source, cost, distance and downstream requirements, none of which are modelled here. Not enough measured data to say which option is better.