Electrorefining efficiency calculator
Compare the metal you actually recovered with what the charge should have deposited: 9.2 g against a theoretical 10 g is 92 % current efficiency, with 0.8 g missing. You get the percent, the fraction and the shortfall. Free in your browser.
- Free
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Your data stays on your device
Run — free
Worked example
- Actual deposited
- 9.2
- Theoretical mass
- 10
- Efficiency percent
- 92
- Efficiency fraction
- 0.92
- Mass loss
- 0.8
- Mass loss percent
- 8
Electrorefining current efficiency—also called faradaic or cathodic efficiency—compares the mass of metal actually deposited or recovered with the theoretical mass predicted from the charge that passed through the cell. Given a measured deposit mass and a Faraday theoretical mass in the same units, this capability returns efficiency as a percent and a fraction, plus the mass shortfall, with a deterministic SI formula—no tables, no network, and no random drift. Students use it to check homework on copper and nickel refining yields; lab software and process scripts use the same contract to pin expected efficiency values in tests and batch reports.
What electrorefining current efficiency means and how to choose inputs
Write the electrorefining problem with two known masses that share the same unit, almost always grams: the actual deposited or recovered mass measured after the run, and the theoretical mass obtained from Faraday's first law using the total charge, the molar mass of the metal, and the number of electrons transferred. Current efficiency is the ratio of actual to theoretical mass multiplied by one hundred, so a perfect faradaic process that wastes no charge on side reactions scores one hundred percent.
Side reactions such as hydrogen evolution, incomplete current collection, or mechanical losses typically push the measured mass below theory and the efficiency below one hundred; values slightly above one hundred can appear when measurement error or undeclared co-deposition inflates the weigh-in. Actual mass must be non-negative because a negative deposit is not a physical recovery figure in this product. Theoretical mass must be non-zero so the efficiency ratio stays defined.
What you can do with it
Homework and exam verification
Students and graders compute current efficiency for copper or nickel electrorefining from actual and theoretical masses, and get a clear error when theoretical mass is zero by mistake.
Cathode and plant yield reports
Shop and lab scripts turn weigh-in mass and Faraday theory into a percent efficiency KPI for batch reports without reimplementing the ratio in every spreadsheet.
FAQ
What happens if theoretical mass is zero?
Zero theoretical mass makes the efficiency ratio undefined (division by zero) and is rejected and not charged.
What units does the calculator use?
Both masses must be in the same unit, conventionally grams.
Is the electrorefining efficiency calculator free?
The browser tool runs free on your device.
Why is my current efficiency below 100 %?
Because part of the charge or the metal went elsewhere. Side reactions such as hydrogen evolution, incomplete current collection or mechanical losses all leave the weighed deposit lighter than Faraday's law predicts.
Can current efficiency come out above 100 %?
Slightly, yes. A value just over 100 % usually means measurement error or an undeclared co-deposit added weight to the weigh-in, so check the scale and the purity of the deposit before reporting it.
Related tools
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/chem/electrorefining-efficiency \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"actual_mass":9.2,"theoretical_mass":10}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/chem/electrorefining-efficiency", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"actual_mass": 9.2,
"theoretical_mass": 10
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/chem/electrorefining-efficiency",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"actual_mass": 9.2,
"theoretical_mass": 10
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/chem/electrorefining-efficiency", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"actual_mass":9.2,"theoretical_mass":10}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"actual_mass":9.2,"theoretical_mass":10}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/chem/electrorefining-efficiency", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"actual_mass": 9.2,
"theoretical_mass": 10
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "chem.electrorefining_efficiency",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |
Technical notes
Zero theoretical mass is rejected as invalid input because the m_theoretical denominator is undefined.
What electrorefining current efficiency means and how to choose inputs
Send a JSON object with required fields actual_mass and theoretical_mass as finite numbers or numeric strings; aliases such as m_actual, actual, mass_actual, m_exp, m_theoretical, theoretical, mass_theoretical, m_theo, and m_calc are accepted when documented by the SDK so client code can speak laboratory English. Zero theoretical mass fails with invalid_input because division by m_theoretical is undefined and the engine never returns Infinity or NaN for that case. Identical inputs always produce identical JSON because the path is pure arithmetic with no network, no random seed, and no wall clock.
Reading efficiency percent, fraction, mass loss, and response fields
The units block labels grams for masses, percent for efficiency_percent and mass_loss_percent, and dimensionless for the fraction. The formula string is always eta equals open parenthesis m_actual over m_theoretical close parenthesis times one hundred, and the method label is always electrorefining_current_efficiency so downstream code can branch without sniffing shapes. Use efficiency_percent alone when a refining report needs a single KPI; use mass_loss and mass_loss_percent when grading software or plant dashboards must show how many grams were missing relative to charge. Missing required fields, non-finite numbers, negative actual mass, and zero theoretical mass all fail with invalid_input and are not charged after the engine rejects the request.
API usage, pricing, plant workflows, and practical limits
Keep inputs within ordinary lab and plant ranges—from classroom copper coupons to multi-tonne electrorefining cathodes—and prefer classroom-scale numbers for grading oracles. Send a JSON body with the two required masses and call the free in-browser electrorefining efficiency calculator for homework checks, lecture demos, and quick cathode yield estimates without installing a spreadsheet or a local process toolkit. Use the prepaid API when a tutoring platform, process-control sandbox, curriculum generator, or copper-nickel refining pipeline needs a stable contract under KIT balance at $0.002 per successful item; validation failures never consume balance after the engine rejects the request. Pair this endpoint with a Faraday mass calculator when you already know current, time, molar mass, and electrons and still need m_theoretical before computing efficiency, or with plating mass tools when the theoretical side comes from a different charge model. This product assumes both masses are already converted to the same unit and does not convert kilograms to grams for you. Authors shipping SDKs can map efficiency_percent, mass_loss, and efficiency_fraction directly into UI tables that mirror the worked example students write on paper when they grade an electrorefining run by hand.
Integration use cases
Tutoring and curriculum generators
Lesson builders produce worked electrorefining efficiency examples with structured JSON for flashcards, step sheets, and auto-graded electrochemistry drills.
Technical questions
How do I calculate electrorefining current efficiency?
Send JSON with actual_mass (g) and theoretical_mass (g). The response includes efficiency_percent via η = (m_actual / m_theoretical) × 100.
Does this compute Faraday theoretical mass from current and time?
No. Supply theoretical_mass already computed (for example from Faraday's first law). This capability only ratios actual deposit mass to that theory.