Development of a Population Balance Model of a pharmaceutical drying process and testing of solution methods

Séverine Thérèse F.C. Mortier, Krist Gernaey, Thomas De Beer, Ingmar Nopens

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Drying is frequently used in the production of pharmaceutical tablets. Simulation-based control strategy development for such a drying process requires a detailed model. First, the drying of wet granules is modelled using a Population Balance Model. A growth term based on a reduced model was used, which describes the decrease of the moisture content, to follow the moisture content distribution for a batch of granules. Secondly, different solution methods for solving the PBM are compared. The effect of grid size (discretization methods) is analyzed in terms of accuracy and calculation time. All tested methods are compared based on their ability to predict moment dynamics and the distribution, and their computational burden. The Method of Characteristics, a fast method, is able to calculate the distribution accurately with a coarse grid. The Quadrature Method of Moments requires even less calculation time, but results in a set of moments. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
Original languageEnglish
JournalComputers & Chemical Engineering
Volume50
Pages (from-to)39-53
ISSN0098-1354
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Discrete event simulation
  • Drug products
  • Granulation
  • Mathematical models
  • Method of moments
  • Moisture determination
  • Drying

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Development of a Population Balance Model of a pharmaceutical drying process and testing of solution methods'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this