Reactive Dye Liquor Ratio and Recipe Calculator for Cotton Dyeing
Dyehouse recipes are written as percent on weight of fabric for dye, and as grams per liter for salt and alkali. The numbers change with batch weight and liquor ratio, so a simple calculator saves mistakes at the chemical kitchen. It also shows how lowering the liquor ratio reduces cost.
Your numbers
Dry weight of goods in the machine.
Liters of liquor per kg of fabric; 10 means 1:10.
Percent of dye on weight of fabric.
Your results
Starting point for costing and batch prep. Recipes depend on dye class, machine, shade depth and local lab dips; salt and alkali are often adjusted with shade depth.
Cost per kg vs liquor ratio
Sweeps Liquor ratio (1 : x) from 4 to 20, holding your other inputs fixed.
Dye batch cost tracking in your ERP
Optional: discuss reporting planned versus actual chemical use by batch.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use it
Enter the dry batch weight, the liquor ratio of your machine, the shade percentage from the lab dip recipe, and the salt and soda ash dosage per liter. Then enter chemical prices. The results show liquor volume and the weight of each chemical, plus the cost per kilogram of fabric so you can compare machines or recipes.
- Weigh fabric dry, not at the moisture-laden weight from the stenter
- Use machine-specific liquor ratio, including the volume held in pipes
- Check whether the price for dye is for commercial strength or 100 percent
The formulas
Liquor volume (L) = fabric weight (kg) x liquor ratio. Dye (kg) = fabric weight x shade percent / 100. Salt (kg) = salt dosage (g/L) x liquor volume / 1000, and the same for soda ash. Cost per kg of fabric is the total of dye, salt, soda ash and water cost divided by fabric weight. Salt and alkali scale with liquor, dye scales with fabric.
Reading the result
The chart shows the effect of liquor ratio: dye cost per kg stays constant, but salt, alkali and water rise in proportion to liquor. Moving from 1:12 to 1:8 on the same shade can cut chemical and water cost per kg noticeably, which is why low liquor ratio machines pay back. Pale shades are dominated by salt and water; dark shades by dye.
Common mistakes
Typical errors are using batch weight with moisture, mixing grams per liter with percent owf, and forgetting that salt requirement often changes with shade depth. The calculator excludes rinsing, soaping and fixation steps, energy, and labor, so it understates total cost. Use it for chemical kitchen preparation and relative comparisons, not a full dyeing cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does owf mean?
It means on weight of fabric. A 2 percent owf shade means 2 kg of dye for every 100 kg of dry fabric. It lets recipes scale with batch weight without changing the ratio of dye to goods.
What liquor ratio is typical?
Conventional jet and winch machines often run from roughly 1:8 to 1:15, while low liquor machines can run lower. The actual figure depends on the machine and fabric, so use your machine data.
Does the tool cover disperse or vat dyes?
The math for liquor and percent owf applies to any dye, but the chemicals differ. For other dye classes, set salt and soda ash to zero and cost your own auxiliaries in the other cost lines of your costing sheet.
Why is water cost separate?
Water and effluent treatment often cost more than the chemicals at pale shades. Showing it explicitly helps you evaluate low liquor machines and reuse projects. Enter your combined supply and treatment cost per cubic meter.
If dye lots, recipes and batch costs are tracked in your ERP or MES, we can build a read-only assistant that compares planned and actual chemical consumption per batch.
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