PBM

A Population Balance Model (PBM) is a state-of-the-art modelling methodology used to describe the evolution of a distributed property of interest. BIOMATH's interest is mainly focused on the distribution of particle size throughout a process under study. Modelling size dynamics allows us to understand the continuous (e.g. growth) and/or discrete processes (e.g. aggregation, breakage) shaping a particle size distribution.

BIOMATH has expertise in applying PBM to various systems spanning different sectors, such as flocculation in secondary settling tanks of wastewater treatment plants, agglomeration and breakage during twin-screw wet granulation and fluidized bed drying of pharmaceutical products, and even bubble growth for improved bioreactor aeration.
Our in-house technical knowledge on PBM is an invaluable asset. Different numerical solution techniques are used and are still being developed. Moreover, the available PBMs are flexibly implemented through different commercial and Open Source computational platforms, including MATLAB, Python and gPROMS.