# PPM Calculator

Created by Bogna Szyk
Reviewed by Rijk de Wet
Last updated: Mar 20, 2022

If percentages, per mills and parts per million still confuse you, give this PPM calculator a shot. It is a simple tool that can be used for conversion from PPM to units such as percents or parts per billion (PPB). In this article, we will provide you with a short description of each of the proportion metrics and give you a detailed explanation of how to calculate PPM and percentages.

## How to calculate PPM and percents

All of the proportion metrics are quite similar: they describe small values of dimensionless quantities, such as the volumetric proportion of $\text{NO}_2$ in the air. For example, PPM means "parts per million". If you find out that the concentration of $\text{NO}_2$ is equal to 1 ppm, it means that if you take a "sample" of air and divide it into a million parts, one of them will consist of $\text{NO}_2$.

The proportion metrics are as follows:

• Percentage: equal to 1 per 100;
• Permille: equal to 1 per 1,000;
• PPM: equal to 1 per 1,000,000;
• PPB: equal to 1 per 1,000,000,000; and
• PPT: equal to 1 per 1,000,000,000,000.

## PPM conversion: an example

Let's take the following example: you have created a solution of salt ($\text{NaCl}$) in water. You used 0.005 grams of salt, and the final mass of the solution is equal to 1 kilogram. How many parts per million (PPM) of salt are in the solution?

1. Start with expressing the solution concentration as a decimal. There are 0.005 grams of salt in 1 kilogram (1000 grams). It means that the decimal is equal to
$\footnotesize \quad\enspace 0.005\ \text{g}\ /\ 1,\!000\ \text{g} = 0.000005$
1. To find the percentage, multiply this value by a hundred:
$\footnotesize \quad\enspace 0.000005 \times 100 \% = 0.0005\%$
1. To find the permille value, multiply the decimal by a thousand:
$\footnotesize \quad\enspace 0.000005 \times 1,\!000 ‰ = 0.005‰$
1. For the PPM, multiply the decimal by a million:
$\footnotesize \quad\enspace \begin{split} & 0.000005 \times 1,\!000,\!000\ \text{PPM} \\ &= 5\ \text{PPM} \end{split}$
1. Finally, for the PPB, multiply the decimal by a billion:
$\footnotesize \quad\enspace \begin{split} & 0.000005 \times 1,\!000,\!000,\!000\ \text{PPB} \\ &= 5,\!000\ \text{PPB} \end{split}$

One of the applications of such PPM calculations in everyday life, is to find and adjust the salinity of your swimming pool.

Bogna Szyk
Number
%
PPM
PPB
PPT
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