Whey Yield Calculator

Work out whey yield instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Whey Yield Calculator

Whey is the mass balance remainder: milk mass less cheese mass. Around nine litres of whey arise per kilogram of hard cheese. It carries most of the lactose and the whey proteins, which is why recovering them as whey protein concentrate and lactose turns a disposal cost into a revenue stream.

Formulas

Whey yield

Whey mass = milk mass - cheese mass, with milk mass = volume x 1.03

Component recovery

Component (kg) = whey mass x component % / 100

Worked example

With the default values below, Whey Yield Calculator returns Whey Produced of 927.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Milk Processedminimum 0 L: 1,000 L
Cheese Yieldaccepts 0–40 % of milk: 10 % of milk
Whey Protein Contentminimum 0 % w/w: 0.7 % w/w
Whey Lactose Contentminimum 0 % w/w: 4.8 % w/w

Results

Whey Produced: 927.00
Whey Per Litre Of Milk: 0.9270
Recoverable Whey Protein: 6.489
Recoverable Lactose: 44.496

Step by step

1Values used
2Whey yield
3Component recovery
4Whey Produced= 927.00
5Whey Per Litre Of Milk= 0.9270
6Recoverable Whey Protein= 6.489
7Recoverable Lactose= 44.496

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Whey has a very high organic load and cannot be discharged to sewer or watercourse without treatment or consent. Confirm discharge permissions before disposal.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Whey has a very high organic load and cannot be discharged to sewer or watercourse without treatment or consent. Confirm discharge permissions before disposal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is whey disposal a problem?

It has a biochemical oxygen demand of 30,000-50,000 mg/L, hundreds of times domestic sewage. Discharging it untreated is prohibited almost everywhere.

Is whey protein recovery always viable?

It needs scale. Ultrafiltration and spray drying are capital intensive, so small dairies more often sell liquid whey for animal feed or send it to a central processor.