The apparatus for
drying material with
superheated steam comprises a downwardly opening chamber (10) having an inlet (61) for the material to be dried, an outlet (62) for the
drying material, inlets (71a, 71b) for
superheated steam, and outlets (73a, 73b) for steam. The apparatus further comprises a conveying
system (60) for introducing the material into the chamber (10), transporting the material in the chamber (10) during
drying, and discharging the dried material from the chamber (10). The apparatus also comprises a vapor compressor (40) for compressing a first portion of the steam recycled from the chamber (10), and a
heat exchanger (30) for transferring heat from the compressed first portion by condensing a volumetric flow of the compressed first portion, which is fed to the
heat exchanger. The apparatus is operated such that a steam
atmosphere is formed in the upper region of the chamber (10) and that the steam
atmosphere floats on
ambient air in the lower region of the chamber (10), forming a
transition layer (66) between the upper and lower regions. The height of the
transition layer (66) is maintained within a specified range by determining the current height, and depending on the determined height, the volumetric flow rate of the compressed first portion supplied to the
heat exchanger (30) or the volumetric flow rate of the steam generator (15) is controlled, the steam generator (15) being arranged and operated such that steam is supplied to and / or generated in the chamber (10).