Abstract: A method of drying solid biomass is disclosed. Particles of the biomass are first mechanically pre-dried by feeding them into a press. There they are partially split into fibers to increase their surface area, and liquid is squeezed out of them and from between them. The liquid is led away from the press. The mechanically pre-dried biomass particles are immediately fed out of the press into a process gas stream that entrains them and feeds them tangentially into a cyclonic processing chamber. In the chamber, the particles collide with themselves and with other solids that have been introduced into the chamber. The water and steam released by these collisions is led out of the top of the chamber, and the dried particles are led out the bottom.