Before feeding to the belt dryer, the sediment is formed into pellets (rope shape) with a special extractor. Pellets are evenly distributed over the entire width of the perforated belt and form a well-blown air layer. The sediment layer is fed into the working area of the dryer and blown through with hot air. The sediment moves with a loop belt. The use of belt dryer allows avoiding long start-up and shutdown processes during operation. The retention time of the sediment in the drying zone is controlled by changing the speed of the perforated belt. This allows for optimal adjustment of the plant for drying different sediments with different characteristics for the dry matter content, throughput and process temperature. Evenness of drying ensures a homogeneous structure of the product and a high-quality, clean granulate, which is well suited for all possible ways of disposal.