A flotation column has been designed and characterized with respect to gas velocity, slurry velocity, frother concentration, gas holdup, bubble surface area flux for the study of the mixing property, liquid phase residence time distribution, flotation recovery and rate constant. The study was performed using coal as solid. A strategy of integrating chemical kinetics into the flotation process to test the floatability behaviour of coal and to estimate floatability parameter of coal has been developed. The results indicate that the coal floatability parameter is 3.05 x 10(-4). A relationship between gas holdup and bubble surface area flux was developed.