Abstract
Bentonite can be used to adsorb dyes and ultrafiltration (UF) can be used to purify wastewaters from colloidal matters. Combining both processes in a one-step treatment process can achieve both goals concurrently. The suitability of such a combined process for the removal of color caused by methylene blue (MB) dye was investigated in the present work. Effects of feed concentration, feed temperature, bentonite dose, and operating pressure on the permeate flux and color removal were investigated. Permeate flux increased linearly with increasing pressure while the permeate concentration remained almost constant. The addition of bentonite significantly increased the rejection coefficient of MB but decreased the permeate flux. The results obtained in this study revealed that such a combined process could beneficially be used for the treatment of dye effluents.