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BELT DRYER

Gentle drying for bulk materials at low temperatures

Belt dryers, also called low-temperature dryers, are used when it’s necessary to dry different types of bulk materials using residual heat or waste heat from other processes. One of the main fields where belt dryers are employed is the wood-based panels industry, the pellet industry and other industries where it’s necessary to dry free-flowing biomass using warm air. Belt dryers are also suitable for pre-drying fuel in power plants. Depending on requirements, they may also be used as pre-dryers, main dryers or post-dryers and may be heated either directly or indirectly. The main sources of energy include hot water, low-temperature steam and/or flue gas.

  • Water evaporation up to 30 t/h per unit
  • Gentle product drying
  • Dryer featuring a modular design for a variety of capacity ranges and applications
  • Single- or multi-level dryer designs possible
  • Indirect heating through heat exchangers for hot water, steam or thermal oil
  • Direct heating with waste air from processes or flue gas
  • Optimised air flow with frequency-controlled fans
  • Fully automatic temperature control, frequency-controlled belt speed
  • Dry- and wet-cleaning system for the belt
  • Belt-drift control for trouble-free continuous operation
  • Inspection- and maintenance-friendly dryer


On belt dryers, the bulk material to be dried in the feed module is applied by the circulating screws as a uniform product layer over the entire width of the belt. It’s possible to control the powered belt’s speed to ensure that the moisture content required for the dried product is always achieved. Controlling the belt speed adapts the dwell time of the product to be dried in the drying chamber and thus also the time during which dry air flows through the product layer and removes water from the product. The drying air flows through heat exchangers into the drying chamber and is heated as a result. The required air flow is generated by highly efficient fans, which pull the warm air through the product layer and the belt, which in turn removes water from the product. The saturated air is then released into the environment through exhaust ducts.