The process of removing water from moist solid particles in a conventional bubbling fluidised bed has been experimentally studied. Air at ambient conditions was used to dry the moist particles at various fluidisation velocities. Throughout the drying process, images of the material distribution were recorded using Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT). Simultaneously, the outlet air moisture content was measured using temperature/humidity probe. The ECT data were used to quantify the bubbles characteristics while the air moisture content was used to calculate the drying rate. From the available experimental data, a simplified method, based on bubble-dense phase interaction, was used to calculate the overall mass transfer coefficient. To avoid the complexity of the process, the fluidised bed was operated at single bubbling regime. The experimental results are discussed in relation to the different drying mechanisms at the falling rate and constant rate.

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