An apparatus for removing aqueous liquid having a lower content of solids, if any, from a flowable material, containing aqueous liquid as a continuous phase and suspended solids as a discontinuous phase, to obtain a product having a higher solids content, has two endless, driven belts of elongated porous sheets. The belts are supported so that one belt has its path of travel inside that of the other belt. The outer belt is supported so that it has an upper horizontal run through three zones. The inner belt is moved in the same direction and has upper horizontal runs through the first and third of those zones. At the intermediate zone the belt moves downwardly and then upwardly. The outer belt overlies and abuts the inner belt at the first and third zones and is spaced from it at the intermediate zone. The sheet of the inner belt is resilient, compressible and made of cellular material capable of absorbing an aqueous liquid by a wicking action, whereas the sheet of the outer belt is a fine-mesh sheet with pores providing passage of the liquid through the sheet by the wicking action of the abutting cellular sheet of the inner belt while most of the solids are retained on the outer belt. A feeder for delivering flowable material on to the outer belt is mounted adjacent the beginning of the first zone. At the intermediate zone a pair of opposed rolls compress the inner belt to remove aqueous liquid. The inner belt is a composite assembly of the sheet of cellular material, a backing sheet and overlying strands secured to the backing sheet at widely spaced locations to avoid affecting substantially the planarity of the outer surface of the sheet of cellular material.