Method of drying solid biomass

A Method of drying solid biomass, comprising the steps of:

• providing a press, a process gas stream and a cyclonic processing chamber;
• mechanically pre-drying said biomass, comprising:
• feeding biomass particles into said press;
• pressing said biomass particle in said press, thereby:
• partially splitting said biomass particles into fibers thereby increasing their surface area;
• and
• squeezing out liquid enclosed in and between said biomass particles;
• leading said squeezed out liquid away from said press;
• feeding, immediately after mechanically pre-drying, said mechanically pre-dried particles out of said press into said process gas stream;
• entraining, by said process gas stream;
• said mechanically pre-dried particles;
• feeding, by said process gas stream, said entrained, mechanically pre-dried particles tangentially into said cyclonic processing chamber thereby driving them into a swirling motion;
• separating liquid remaining on the surface and reabsorbed in a surface layer of the mechanically pre-dried particles by making them collide with each other by exposing them to said process gas stream inside the chamber;
• intensifying said collisions of said mechanically pre-dried particle by having them collide with other solids introduced into the processing chamber;
• and
• leading said separated droplets of liquid and vapor out of a top part of said processing chamber, and said dried biomass particles out of a bottom part thereof.