We present a differential equation model and a computer simulation of particle de-agglomertion in suspensions. The models are qualitative in nature. that is they do not assume specific parameters. Instead, this article investigates whether qualitative features of a series of transient volume-size distributions can give an insight into the underlying dynamics of particle de-agglomeration. We find that this is indeed possible and provide a table summarizing how various breakdown processes can be distinguished by considering the qualitative features of the transient volume-size distributions only. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.